Legalize It!
Many feel today we are loosing the war on drugs. When a battle goes to the point where there is no winner there needs to be a re-evaluation of how to solve the problem. In the case of the war against drugs, years of fighting have caused increased crime, overcrowding of prisons and the wasted use of money and resources with no results. It is now time to look at alternative methods to solving the nation's drug problem. I will be looking at one of these methods that deals with the legalization of marijuana. In the following pages you can look at why I think there is a problem in the United States which deals with the use of drugs, our solutions to the problem and our responses to the attacks against the legalization of marijuana.
Although, legalization will increase use of the drug. However, many supporters of continuing the illegalization of drugs believe that by legalizing drugs they will become more accessible and use will therefore increase. They base this argument on past experiment dealing with alcohol prohibition. After the end of prohibition with the 21st amendment, alcohol consumption doubled while prohibition decreased use by 50 percent(Light). They also cite that use of marijuana peaked in 1979 when there was a decriminalization of drug use by eleven states. When researching to find if a particular solution will prove to be of use, it is important to look at historical examples and learn from them. In Liverpool, England, after a recent legalization of drugs in a regulatory program that focuses on the medical benefits of drugs, most drug pushers have left town because there is no longer a market for them(Priver 28). This shows that legalization actually decreases use because of the increased emphasis on rehabilitation and the decrease of drug pushers. Such a dramatic decrease in drug dealers has not only resulted in crime reduction in England but there was also a decrease of drug use.
It is true, legalization will not eliminate the major cause of violent crime; however, most argumentation which says that drug legalization will not decrease crime deals with the idea that most violent crime occurs as a result of alcohol use(Light). Since this is true, and legalization would not effect crime that is alcohol related but it will decrease violent crime that is linked to drug dealing and use. The drugs themselves may not cause violent crime but people involved in the distributing of illicit drugs make the deadliest crime. By legalizing drugs the dealer would be eliminated and therefore crime would be reduced. By keeping the addict separate from the criminal then violent, jealous, possessive crime(Friedman 16).
Granted, the overall cost of drug use would not decrease; however, supporters of the continued war on drug and the further illegalization of these drugs say that legalization would cost more both socially and economically. They say that legalization would result in increased use and eventually will mean an increase in cancer deaths with greater marijuana smoking(Light). Another result they say will happen is the deteriorization of family values as a result of increased drug using mothers and children. Actually, the legalization of drugs will put money which is used for law enforcement into the construction of better rehabilitation and education programs. Education is an essential part in this proposal because through this method the problem is solved not mearly covered up with jail bars. Economically, for every dollar spent on drug treatment there is a $7 return due to decreased criminal activity(Cotton 992). Through the regulation and supervision of the distribution of marijuana, there would be no increases in the number of drug addicted newborns nor will it induce the deterioration of society. The overall cost of drug use would decrease and would bring a new revenue for our nation.
After looking at and knowing the pro and cons of marijuana legalization, I have decided that it is a valid and necessary solution to our countries drug problem. By implementing such a program the American population can use it's money and resources to combat the problem through rehabilitation and education instead of stalling the problem through the legal system. Legalization will decrease violent crime associated with drug dealers, it will decrease the number of users and will lower the wasteful cost which is connected with the current system. Such legalization will not destroy our youth in any way and will only be accessible to adults in the country. If we continue with our current system we will never solve the problem. Drug dealers and addicts will continue to crown our prisons and plague our streets with violent crime with no hope for help nor a better future.
Works Cited
Cotton, Paul. "Drug policy." The Journal of the American Medical Association. 5 Oct 1994.
Light, Kim E. "Myths about Drug Legalization." 5 March 1995.
http://www.intellinet.com/~aclight/kim/myths01.html
Friedman, Milton. "Prohibition and Drugs." Newsweek. 1972.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Legalization of Drugs
Legalization of Drugs
The drug connection is one that continues to resist analysis, both because cause and effect are so difficult to distinguish and because the role of the drug-prohibition laws in causing and labeling "drug-related crime" is so often ignored. There are four possible connections between drugs and crime, at least three of which would be much diminished if the drug-prohibition laws were repealed. "First, producing, selling, buying, and consuming strictly controlled and banned substances is itself a crime that occurs billions of times each year in the United States alone" (Lindsmith Center). In the absence of drug-prohibition laws, these activities would obviously stop being crimes. "Selling drugs to children would continue to be criminal, and other evasions of government regulation of a legal market would continue to be prosecuted; but by and large the drug connection that now accounts for all of the criminal-justice costs noted above would be severed" (Lindsmith Center).
Second, many illicit-drug users commit crimes such as robbery and burglary, as well as drug dealing, prostitution, and many others, to earn enough money to purchase the relatively high-priced illicit drugs. "Unlike the millions of alcoholics who can support their habits for relatively modest amounts, many cocaine and heroin addicts spend hundreds and
even thousands of dollars a week" (Lindsmith Center). If the drugs to which they are addicted were much cheaper-which would be the case if they were legalized-the
number of crimes committed by drug addicts to pay for their habits would, in all likelihood,
decline. Even if a legal-drug policy included the a demand of relatively high taxes in order to discourage consumption, drug prices would probably still be lower than they are today.
The third drug connection is the commission of crimes- violent crimes in particular-by people under the influence of illicit drugs. "This connection seems to have the greatest impact upon the popular imagination" (Lindsmith Center). Clearly, some drugs do "cause" some people to commit crimes by reducing normal control, unleashing aggressive and other antisocial tendencies, and lessening the sense of responsibility. "Cocaine, particularly in the form of crack, has gained such a reputation in recent years, just as heroin did in the 1960s and 1970s, and marijuana did in the years before that. Crack's reputation for inspiring violent behavior may or may not be more deserved than those of marijuana and heroin. No illicit drug, however, is as widely associated with violent behavior as alcohol. According to Justice Department statistics, 54 percent of all jail inmates convicted of violent crimes in 1983 reported having used alcohol just prior to committing their offense. The impact of drug legalization on this drug connection is the most difficult to predict. Much would depend on overall rates of drug abuse and changes in the nature of consumption, both of which are impossible to predict. It is worth noting, however, that a shift in consumption from alcohol to marijuana would almost certainly contribute to a decline in violent behavior" (Lindsmith Center).
The fourth drug link is the violent, intimidating, and corrupting behavior of the
drug traffickers. Illegal markets tend to breed violence not only because they attract
criminally-minded individuals, but also because participants in the market have no resort to
legal institutions to resolve their disputes. According to the Lindsmith Center "During Prohibition, violent struggles between bootlegging gangs and hijackings of booze-laden trucks and sea vessels were frequent and notorious occurrences. Today's equivalents are the booby traps that surround some marijuana fields, the pirates of the Caribbean looking to rip off drug-laden vessels en route to the shores of the United States, and the machine gun battles and executions carried out by drug lords -- all of which occasionally kill innocent people. Most law-enforcement officials agree that the dramatic increases in urban murder rates during the past few years can be explained almost entirely by the rise in drug-dealer killings" (Lindsmith Center).
Perhaps the most unfortunate victims of the drug-prohibition policies have been the law-abiding residents of America s ghettos. These policies have largely proven futile in deterring large numbers of ghetto dwellers from becoming drug abusers, but they do account for much of what ghetto residents identify as the drug problem. In many neighborhoods, it often seems to be the aggressive gun-toting drug dealers who upset law abiding residents far more than the addicts nodding out in doorways. Other residents, however, perceive the drug dealers as heroes and successful role models. In impoverished neighborhoods, they often stand out as symbols of success to children who see no other options. "The increasingly harsh criminal penalties imposed on adult drug dealers have led to the widespread recruitment of juveniles by drug traffickers. Children started dealing drugs only after they had been using them for a while; today the sequence is often reversed: many children start using illegal drugs now only after working for drug dealers. And the juvenile-justice system offers no realistic options for dealing with
this growing problem" (Lindsmith Center).
"The failure of law-enforcement agencies to deal with this drug connection is probably most responsible for the corruption of neighborhoods and police departments alike. Intensive police crackdowns in urban neighborhoods do little more than chase the menace a short distance away to infect new areas. By contrast, legalization of the drug market would drive the drug-dealing business off the streets and out of the apartment buildings, and into legal, government-regulated, taxpaying stores. It would also force many of the gun-toting dealers out of business, and would convert others into legitimate businessmen" (Lindsmith Center). Some would turn to other types of criminal activities, just as some of the bootleggers did following Prohibition's withdrawal. Gone would be the unparalleled financial temptations that lure so many people from all sectors of society into the drug-dealing business.
I feel that drugs should be legalized in the United States because of the many taxes that would be put onto the drug market. It would also lure drug users to become legitimate businesspeople under the regulation of the U.S. government. If drugs were legalized it would mean a new source of economy for our government, also people will not resort to crime to get the drugs and would become more respectable. If drugs were legalized it would be a great move forward, not only in the field of law enforcement but also in the legal drug market. Legalizing drugs would also stop the gun toting drug dealing people to get out of the drug dealing business because they can't control things on the street anymore
with the drugs. He would have to go the legal way and try to make himself a respectable
business person or lose all of his business. The bottom line is, if drugs are legalized it would stop a lot of crime and stimulate the economy. Drugs are bad, but wouldn't it be better to stop the criminal activity than let all of the crime go unchecked. The drug trafficking these days is getting to be ridiculous and something must be done to stop the rage of drug use and crime in our societies today. Children can get their hands on these illegal and dangerous drugs so easy now it is crazy. If drug use was legalized it would become almost impossible for a child under age to get these drugs. It would stop many young people from becoming junkies, while making them into better people that would contribute to their community. If a person wants to mess their bodies up I believe that they should do what they want with themselves, but when things start to affect other people then the authorities should step in.
WORK CITED
The Lindsmith Center, www.soros.org "Drugs and Crime."
The drug connection is one that continues to resist analysis, both because cause and effect are so difficult to distinguish and because the role of the drug-prohibition laws in causing and labeling "drug-related crime" is so often ignored. There are four possible connections between drugs and crime, at least three of which would be much diminished if the drug-prohibition laws were repealed. "First, producing, selling, buying, and consuming strictly controlled and banned substances is itself a crime that occurs billions of times each year in the United States alone" (Lindsmith Center). In the absence of drug-prohibition laws, these activities would obviously stop being crimes. "Selling drugs to children would continue to be criminal, and other evasions of government regulation of a legal market would continue to be prosecuted; but by and large the drug connection that now accounts for all of the criminal-justice costs noted above would be severed" (Lindsmith Center).
Second, many illicit-drug users commit crimes such as robbery and burglary, as well as drug dealing, prostitution, and many others, to earn enough money to purchase the relatively high-priced illicit drugs. "Unlike the millions of alcoholics who can support their habits for relatively modest amounts, many cocaine and heroin addicts spend hundreds and
even thousands of dollars a week" (Lindsmith Center). If the drugs to which they are addicted were much cheaper-which would be the case if they were legalized-the
number of crimes committed by drug addicts to pay for their habits would, in all likelihood,
decline. Even if a legal-drug policy included the a demand of relatively high taxes in order to discourage consumption, drug prices would probably still be lower than they are today.
The third drug connection is the commission of crimes- violent crimes in particular-by people under the influence of illicit drugs. "This connection seems to have the greatest impact upon the popular imagination" (Lindsmith Center). Clearly, some drugs do "cause" some people to commit crimes by reducing normal control, unleashing aggressive and other antisocial tendencies, and lessening the sense of responsibility. "Cocaine, particularly in the form of crack, has gained such a reputation in recent years, just as heroin did in the 1960s and 1970s, and marijuana did in the years before that. Crack's reputation for inspiring violent behavior may or may not be more deserved than those of marijuana and heroin. No illicit drug, however, is as widely associated with violent behavior as alcohol. According to Justice Department statistics, 54 percent of all jail inmates convicted of violent crimes in 1983 reported having used alcohol just prior to committing their offense. The impact of drug legalization on this drug connection is the most difficult to predict. Much would depend on overall rates of drug abuse and changes in the nature of consumption, both of which are impossible to predict. It is worth noting, however, that a shift in consumption from alcohol to marijuana would almost certainly contribute to a decline in violent behavior" (Lindsmith Center).
The fourth drug link is the violent, intimidating, and corrupting behavior of the
drug traffickers. Illegal markets tend to breed violence not only because they attract
criminally-minded individuals, but also because participants in the market have no resort to
legal institutions to resolve their disputes. According to the Lindsmith Center "During Prohibition, violent struggles between bootlegging gangs and hijackings of booze-laden trucks and sea vessels were frequent and notorious occurrences. Today's equivalents are the booby traps that surround some marijuana fields, the pirates of the Caribbean looking to rip off drug-laden vessels en route to the shores of the United States, and the machine gun battles and executions carried out by drug lords -- all of which occasionally kill innocent people. Most law-enforcement officials agree that the dramatic increases in urban murder rates during the past few years can be explained almost entirely by the rise in drug-dealer killings" (Lindsmith Center).
Perhaps the most unfortunate victims of the drug-prohibition policies have been the law-abiding residents of America s ghettos. These policies have largely proven futile in deterring large numbers of ghetto dwellers from becoming drug abusers, but they do account for much of what ghetto residents identify as the drug problem. In many neighborhoods, it often seems to be the aggressive gun-toting drug dealers who upset law abiding residents far more than the addicts nodding out in doorways. Other residents, however, perceive the drug dealers as heroes and successful role models. In impoverished neighborhoods, they often stand out as symbols of success to children who see no other options. "The increasingly harsh criminal penalties imposed on adult drug dealers have led to the widespread recruitment of juveniles by drug traffickers. Children started dealing drugs only after they had been using them for a while; today the sequence is often reversed: many children start using illegal drugs now only after working for drug dealers. And the juvenile-justice system offers no realistic options for dealing with
this growing problem" (Lindsmith Center).
"The failure of law-enforcement agencies to deal with this drug connection is probably most responsible for the corruption of neighborhoods and police departments alike. Intensive police crackdowns in urban neighborhoods do little more than chase the menace a short distance away to infect new areas. By contrast, legalization of the drug market would drive the drug-dealing business off the streets and out of the apartment buildings, and into legal, government-regulated, taxpaying stores. It would also force many of the gun-toting dealers out of business, and would convert others into legitimate businessmen" (Lindsmith Center). Some would turn to other types of criminal activities, just as some of the bootleggers did following Prohibition's withdrawal. Gone would be the unparalleled financial temptations that lure so many people from all sectors of society into the drug-dealing business.
I feel that drugs should be legalized in the United States because of the many taxes that would be put onto the drug market. It would also lure drug users to become legitimate businesspeople under the regulation of the U.S. government. If drugs were legalized it would mean a new source of economy for our government, also people will not resort to crime to get the drugs and would become more respectable. If drugs were legalized it would be a great move forward, not only in the field of law enforcement but also in the legal drug market. Legalizing drugs would also stop the gun toting drug dealing people to get out of the drug dealing business because they can't control things on the street anymore
with the drugs. He would have to go the legal way and try to make himself a respectable
business person or lose all of his business. The bottom line is, if drugs are legalized it would stop a lot of crime and stimulate the economy. Drugs are bad, but wouldn't it be better to stop the criminal activity than let all of the crime go unchecked. The drug trafficking these days is getting to be ridiculous and something must be done to stop the rage of drug use and crime in our societies today. Children can get their hands on these illegal and dangerous drugs so easy now it is crazy. If drug use was legalized it would become almost impossible for a child under age to get these drugs. It would stop many young people from becoming junkies, while making them into better people that would contribute to their community. If a person wants to mess their bodies up I believe that they should do what they want with themselves, but when things start to affect other people then the authorities should step in.
WORK CITED
The Lindsmith Center, www.soros.org "Drugs and Crime."
Legalization of Cannabis
The Legalizeation of Cannabis
Cannibis has been grown for years it was even grown
by our very first Presadent George Washington. Cannabis
has the natural tendancy to make people feel better by
the chemical THC. Cannabis is also Known to make one of
the worlds stronest fibers.It also make 2/3 more paper
than a regular tree.Also no one has ever actually died
from the cannabis it self.
If Cannabis is legalized then the drug traficing
problem with be cut down a great deal and billions
of tax paiers money will be spent on somthing more
important. Death rate will also be cut down some.
People just dont realize the problems they are
causing by keeping it illegalized so legalize it
and remember George Washington grew it.
Cannibis has been grown for years it was even grown
by our very first Presadent George Washington. Cannabis
has the natural tendancy to make people feel better by
the chemical THC. Cannabis is also Known to make one of
the worlds stronest fibers.It also make 2/3 more paper
than a regular tree.Also no one has ever actually died
from the cannabis it self.
If Cannabis is legalized then the drug traficing
problem with be cut down a great deal and billions
of tax paiers money will be spent on somthing more
important. Death rate will also be cut down some.
People just dont realize the problems they are
causing by keeping it illegalized so legalize it
and remember George Washington grew it.
legaliize marijuana
Decriminalize Marijuana for the Good of America
Currently, drugs remain high on the lists of concerns of Americans and are considered one of the major problems facing our country today. We see stories on the news about people being killed on the street every day over drugs. To many people drugs are only an inner-city problem, but in reality they affect all of us - users and non-users. I believe that the negative affects we associate with drugs would be greatly reduced if the United States adopted a policy towards the total decriminalization of marijuana. The current drug policy of our government is obviously failing. Drug laws have created corruption, violence, increased street crime, and disrespect for the criminal justice system. Current drug legislation has failed to reduce demand. It's just too hard to monitor illegal substances when a significant portion of the population is committed to using drugs. (Inciardi and McBride 260)
Marijuana comes from the hemp plant, which can readily be grown on fields across the nation and was cultivated heavily in colonial period. After 130 years of being legal, the potential problems of marijuana were brought into the public eye by Harry J. Anslingler, the commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and author of Marijuana: Assassin of Youth (Goldman 88). In his book, Anslinger portrayed images of Mexican and Negro criminals, as well as young boys, who became killers while under the influence of marijuana. With the added public pressure, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed into law the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. This law made the use and dale of marijuana federal offenses. At this point marijuana was removed from the public eye, and heavy users included poor Negroes, migrant Mexicans, and Jazz Musicians (Himmelstein 3).
Marijuana reappeared in the mid 1960's with the emergence of the "Hippie." Widespread objection to the use of marijuana remained because of the set of valued and lifestyles associated with it, but use appeared in colleges and among middle-class youths in the suburbs (Himmelstein 103). Marijuana became a symbol of a counter-culture, and youthful rebellion. As a consequence, marijuana use rose for the next ten years. Marijuana was becoming more accepted across the nation. As the users of Marijuana changed, the attitudes about the danger of Marijuana broke down. In 1970, the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act reduced the classification of simple possession and non-profit distribution from felonies to misdemeanors (Himmelstein 104). This was a good start.
However, President Richard Nixon declared a war on drugs in 1973 and over the next 20 years, each succeeding president continued to escalate the drug war. This policy has obviously done nothing to stop the recreational use of drugs in this country, on the contrary it is causing great harm. It's time to try something new.
When most people imagine the legalization of marijuana, they fear a marijuana free-for-all with everybody constantly getting high. Legalization would be a burdensome task for the U.S. Government. In fact, the legal process would include a law passed by Congress allowing the government to control the content, quality, and distribution of marijuana. The laws would be similar to the current laws regulating alcohol, including laws governing age, limits for driving, and distribution ("Bring" 13). A thorough investigation of the costs and benefits of legalization must be examined before any policy is implemented , but I believe it will show that the benefits far outweigh the detriments.
The three general areas where people are opposed to legalization of marijuana center their arguments on: health care, increased crime, and social aspects. Marijuana is more dangerous than cigarette smoking. Two Marijuana joints create more airway impairment than do an entire pack of cigarette (Miner 44). One joint contains three times more tar than do cigarettes and is considered four times more dangerous (Courtwright 54). It dramatically increases the pulse rate and blood pressure during use. If marijuana is legalized, many project that lung cancer will increase as the amount of marijuana use increases (Miner 44). These are all valid arguments, but cigarette smoking is legal, a booming business, and causes the same exact problems.
There are a number of myths associated with the use of marijuana and its effects on your body which people who are opposed to its decriminalization repeatedly cite. One of these in that Marijuana causes brain damage. This claim is based on a study of the rehus monkey by Dr. Robert Heath in the late 1970's. Heath's work was criticized for its insufficient sample size (only four monkeys), its failure to control experimental bias, and the misidentification of normal monkey brain structure as "damaged" (Hager 1). Actual studies of human populations of marijuana users have shown no evidence of damage to the brain (Hager 1). In fact, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) conducted two studies in 1977 and they showed no evidence of brain damage in heavy users of marijuana (Hager 1). Later that same year the AMA came out in favor of the decriminalizing of marijuana (Hager 1). That seems to me that the AMA wouldn't do that if it thought marijuana was damaging to the brain.
Another myth is that marijuana damages the reproductive system. This is based on the work of Dr. Gabriel Nahas, who experimented with tissue cells isolated in petri dishes. The cells were dosed with near lethal levels of cannibinoids (the intoxicating part of marijuana). Nahas's generalizations from the petri dishes to human beings have been rejected by the scientific community as being invalid. Studies of actual human populations have failed to demonstrate that marijuana adversely affects the reproductive system. (Hagar 1).
A persistent myth about marijuana is that it is a gateway drug, leading to the use of harder drugs. The Dutch partially decriminalized marijuana in the 1970's since then the use of heroin and cocaine has sharply decreased. The opposite of this gateway affect is also present the United States. In 1993 a study by the Rand corporation compared drug use in states that have decriminalized marijuana and those that have not. It found that in states where marijuana was more available, hard drug abuse as measured by emergency room episodes decreased. What science and real experience tells us is that marijuana tends to substitute for much harder drugs like alcohol, cocaine, and heroin (Hagar 1).
Another misconception is that marijuana is more dangerous than alcohol. Extremely high doses of cannibinoids cause death. Extremely high doses is the key word here. Scientists have concluded that the ratio of cannibinoids needed to get a person intoxicated (stoned) relative to the amount necessary to kill him is 1 to 40,000. That means that to overdose on marijuana you would need to consume 40,000 times as much as you would to get stoned. The ratio of alcohol varies between 1 in 4 and 1 in 10. Over 5000 people die of alcohol overdoses each year, and no one has ever died from overdosing on pot (Hagar 2).
These are just a few of the myths used various groups in order to keep marijuana illegal. Along with these myths come the false belief that crime will increase if marijuana is legalized. Allen St. Pierre, Assistant National Director of the National Organization for the Reformation of Marijuana Laws (NORML), says that legalization will wipe out the already 60-billion dollar black market by placing marijuana in the open market (NORML information pack 3).
It is the enforcement of the laws criminalizing the possession, use, manufacture, and distribution of marijuana that are causing the violent crime. This war on drugs is wasting the money, as well as the lives of American people. The widely recognized opinion maker William F. Buckley, Jr. writes:
...The time devoted to tracking down, arresting and then trying marijuana users and then trying marijuana users is perhaps the greatest exercise in lost time in contemporary activity. In the last two years, approximately 750,000 arrests were made in our mad, quixotic effort to stamp out marijuana. What this adds up to is millions of police hours spent on bootless missions, millions of hours of court time wasted, and millions of months in jail, using up space sorely needed to contain people who can't wait to get out in order to resume mugging and murdering (Buckley 39A).
The drug laws imprison a multitude of otherwise law abiding people, a disproportionate number of them who are poor or minorities, for non violent acts that are directed at no one but themselves (ACLU 1). Instead of eliminating drugs, the prohibition of them just fosters an illegal industry able to inflate prices. This is hauntingly familiar to the prohibition era of gangsters present when alcohol was illegal in the 1920's. Because drugs are sold on the black market, they cause violence, deaths due to no quality regulation, and diseases from sharing illegal drug paraphernalia (ACLU 1).
The American Civil Liberties advocates the full decriminalization of the use, possession, manufacture, and distribution of drugs (ACLU 1). It does this for constitutional reasons. The following is an excerpt from their policy on drugs which was adopted in 1994:
Criminalizing the use, possession, manufacture, and distribution of drugs violates the principle that the criminal law may not be used to protect individuals from the consequences of their own autonomous choices or to impose upon those individuals a majoritarian conception of morality and responsibility.....Enforcement of laws criminalizing possession, use, manufacture of distribution of drugs engender violations of civil liberties. Because drug enforcement is aimed at behavior which is inherently difficult to detect and does not involve a complaining "victim," it necessarily relies on law enforcement techniques -- such as use of undercover operations, arbitrary or invasive testing procedures, random or dragnet seizures, and similar measures -- that raise serious civil liberties concerns. These enforcement techniques lead in practice to widespread violations of civil liberties guarantees, including those secured by the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendments (ACLU 1).
The supporters of legalization believe that it will benefit society in three ways, including revenue enhancement, medical benefits, and hemp production. The ingest argument for marijuana legalization is revenue enhancement for the U.S. Government. Much of the money will be saved due to less law enforcement, court time, and the cost of incarcerating prisoners who's only crime is possession. (Schmoek 3). The U.S. spent roughly one billion dollars on marijuana enforcement last year and the DEA has proposed a 400% increase in anti-pot spending, yet domestic marijuana production has been reduced by only 10%. Further in 1989, 314,552 arrests were made for simple possession (NORML 2).
Considering America's annual marijuana harvest was worth 50.7 billion in 1989 and 41.4 billion in 1988, $28 billion greater than corn at 31.4 billion, marijuana could become the leading agricultural product in the United States (NORML 2). With trade regulations, industry regulations and consumption taxes on he product NORML has estimated that legalization would produce over $40 billion in taxable revenue (NORML 3). As Congress debates the national debt, legalization would provide the needed funds to help our economy.
Legalization advocates constantly tout marijuana's medicinal benefits. For cancer patients, marijuana reduces nausea and increases the appetite (Cauchon 4A). Marijuana also reduces epileptic seizures and reduces nerve disorders in multiple sclerosis patients (NORML 3). If it helps patients get extra quality time out of their lives, then attempts to decriminalize it should be supported. Legalizing marijuana for medical purposes, as California recently did, could provide answers about diseases and allow research to be conducted for future purposes.
An area that does not gather too much publicity in the legalization issue is hemp production. Marijuana comes from the top leaves and flowers of the female hemp plant. The fiber from the top can be used to make clothing, paper, rope, and methanol fuel. Hemp is a plant that can be grown in poor soil, thus not taking up any valuable agricultural land (NORML 4). Hemp now grows in the U.S. because of its heavy production in the 18th and 19th centuries. Seventy-Five to Ninety percent of all paper used before 1883 was hemp paper, including the first two drafts of the Declaration of Independence (Young 25). Hemp is safer for the environment. Hemp requires 40% fewer chemicals to produce paper, and, over twenty years, one acre of hemp can produce four times as much pulp as can an acre of trees (NORML 4). The production of hemp would save trees and clean up the air.
The push for legalization of Cannibis is making news across America just as it did in the 60's. Shirts are being worn with slogans like "Keep America Green." Marijuana use is glorified in movies like Dazed in Confused and by music groups like Cypress Hill and the Black Crowes. Increasing public support and media attention will slowly force the legalization issue into the forefront of the political arena. If the widespread acceptance continues among the powerful new voting block -- college students, the policy towards marijuana could change in the near future. Weighing both the costs and the benefits the decriminalization/legalization of marijuana seems inevitable. Many of the purported myths about its harmful effects have been proven false. The current war on drugs is clearly failing, and costing too many lives and too much money. There are many benefits to be gained from the Cannibis plant: increased tax revenue, safety due to governmental regulation, decreased crime and use of hard drugs, and the environmental benefits of hemp to name a few. With all these reasons taken into consideration the decriminalization/legalization of marijuana seems like a very good idea.
Works Cited
"Bring drugs within the law." The Economist 15 May 1995: 13.
Buckley, William F., Jr. "Crime is the Big Issue, But it Doesn't Separate Parties." Dallas Morning News 9 December 1994.
Cauchon, Dennis. "Marijuana: Medical Enigma." USA Today 1 Oct. 1996, national ed.: 4A.
Courtwright David T. "NO!" American Heritage Feb. - March 1995: 43, 50-56.
Goldman, Albert. Grass Roots. New York: Harper & Row 1979.
Hager, Paul. "Marijuana Myths." ICLU drug task force literature. Available: http://www.parinoia.com/drugs/mariijuana/facts/marijuana-myths.
Himmelstein, Jerome L. The Strange Career of Marijuana [sic]. Westport Connecticut: Greenwood Pres, 1983.
Incardi and McBride. "Legalization: A high risk Alternative" American Behavioral Scientist 32 (1989): 233-243.
Miner, Brad. "How Sweet is Mary Jane?" National Review 25 June 1996: 44.
National Association for the Reformation of Marijuana Laws (NORML). "Marijuana: Facts and Figures." Information Pack. Washington, DC: NORML,
n.d.
Rosenfield, Jim. ACLU Drug Policy, adopted Arpil 1994: "Decriminalization of Drugs."
[Board Minutes, April 8-9, 1994] A available: http://www.primenet.com/%7Eslackk/wosd/aclu0001.txt.
Schmoek, Kurt L. Back to the Future: The public health system's lead role in fighting drugs. Available: http://epfl2.epflbalto.org/mayor/web_page/drug.html#Decriminalization.
Young, Jim. "It's Time to Reconsider Hemp." Pulp and Paper Y5 (1994): 25.
Currently, drugs remain high on the lists of concerns of Americans and are considered one of the major problems facing our country today. We see stories on the news about people being killed on the street every day over drugs. To many people drugs are only an inner-city problem, but in reality they affect all of us - users and non-users. I believe that the negative affects we associate with drugs would be greatly reduced if the United States adopted a policy towards the total decriminalization of marijuana. The current drug policy of our government is obviously failing. Drug laws have created corruption, violence, increased street crime, and disrespect for the criminal justice system. Current drug legislation has failed to reduce demand. It's just too hard to monitor illegal substances when a significant portion of the population is committed to using drugs. (Inciardi and McBride 260)
Marijuana comes from the hemp plant, which can readily be grown on fields across the nation and was cultivated heavily in colonial period. After 130 years of being legal, the potential problems of marijuana were brought into the public eye by Harry J. Anslingler, the commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and author of Marijuana: Assassin of Youth (Goldman 88). In his book, Anslinger portrayed images of Mexican and Negro criminals, as well as young boys, who became killers while under the influence of marijuana. With the added public pressure, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed into law the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. This law made the use and dale of marijuana federal offenses. At this point marijuana was removed from the public eye, and heavy users included poor Negroes, migrant Mexicans, and Jazz Musicians (Himmelstein 3).
Marijuana reappeared in the mid 1960's with the emergence of the "Hippie." Widespread objection to the use of marijuana remained because of the set of valued and lifestyles associated with it, but use appeared in colleges and among middle-class youths in the suburbs (Himmelstein 103). Marijuana became a symbol of a counter-culture, and youthful rebellion. As a consequence, marijuana use rose for the next ten years. Marijuana was becoming more accepted across the nation. As the users of Marijuana changed, the attitudes about the danger of Marijuana broke down. In 1970, the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act reduced the classification of simple possession and non-profit distribution from felonies to misdemeanors (Himmelstein 104). This was a good start.
However, President Richard Nixon declared a war on drugs in 1973 and over the next 20 years, each succeeding president continued to escalate the drug war. This policy has obviously done nothing to stop the recreational use of drugs in this country, on the contrary it is causing great harm. It's time to try something new.
When most people imagine the legalization of marijuana, they fear a marijuana free-for-all with everybody constantly getting high. Legalization would be a burdensome task for the U.S. Government. In fact, the legal process would include a law passed by Congress allowing the government to control the content, quality, and distribution of marijuana. The laws would be similar to the current laws regulating alcohol, including laws governing age, limits for driving, and distribution ("Bring" 13). A thorough investigation of the costs and benefits of legalization must be examined before any policy is implemented , but I believe it will show that the benefits far outweigh the detriments.
The three general areas where people are opposed to legalization of marijuana center their arguments on: health care, increased crime, and social aspects. Marijuana is more dangerous than cigarette smoking. Two Marijuana joints create more airway impairment than do an entire pack of cigarette (Miner 44). One joint contains three times more tar than do cigarettes and is considered four times more dangerous (Courtwright 54). It dramatically increases the pulse rate and blood pressure during use. If marijuana is legalized, many project that lung cancer will increase as the amount of marijuana use increases (Miner 44). These are all valid arguments, but cigarette smoking is legal, a booming business, and causes the same exact problems.
There are a number of myths associated with the use of marijuana and its effects on your body which people who are opposed to its decriminalization repeatedly cite. One of these in that Marijuana causes brain damage. This claim is based on a study of the rehus monkey by Dr. Robert Heath in the late 1970's. Heath's work was criticized for its insufficient sample size (only four monkeys), its failure to control experimental bias, and the misidentification of normal monkey brain structure as "damaged" (Hager 1). Actual studies of human populations of marijuana users have shown no evidence of damage to the brain (Hager 1). In fact, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) conducted two studies in 1977 and they showed no evidence of brain damage in heavy users of marijuana (Hager 1). Later that same year the AMA came out in favor of the decriminalizing of marijuana (Hager 1). That seems to me that the AMA wouldn't do that if it thought marijuana was damaging to the brain.
Another myth is that marijuana damages the reproductive system. This is based on the work of Dr. Gabriel Nahas, who experimented with tissue cells isolated in petri dishes. The cells were dosed with near lethal levels of cannibinoids (the intoxicating part of marijuana). Nahas's generalizations from the petri dishes to human beings have been rejected by the scientific community as being invalid. Studies of actual human populations have failed to demonstrate that marijuana adversely affects the reproductive system. (Hagar 1).
A persistent myth about marijuana is that it is a gateway drug, leading to the use of harder drugs. The Dutch partially decriminalized marijuana in the 1970's since then the use of heroin and cocaine has sharply decreased. The opposite of this gateway affect is also present the United States. In 1993 a study by the Rand corporation compared drug use in states that have decriminalized marijuana and those that have not. It found that in states where marijuana was more available, hard drug abuse as measured by emergency room episodes decreased. What science and real experience tells us is that marijuana tends to substitute for much harder drugs like alcohol, cocaine, and heroin (Hagar 1).
Another misconception is that marijuana is more dangerous than alcohol. Extremely high doses of cannibinoids cause death. Extremely high doses is the key word here. Scientists have concluded that the ratio of cannibinoids needed to get a person intoxicated (stoned) relative to the amount necessary to kill him is 1 to 40,000. That means that to overdose on marijuana you would need to consume 40,000 times as much as you would to get stoned. The ratio of alcohol varies between 1 in 4 and 1 in 10. Over 5000 people die of alcohol overdoses each year, and no one has ever died from overdosing on pot (Hagar 2).
These are just a few of the myths used various groups in order to keep marijuana illegal. Along with these myths come the false belief that crime will increase if marijuana is legalized. Allen St. Pierre, Assistant National Director of the National Organization for the Reformation of Marijuana Laws (NORML), says that legalization will wipe out the already 60-billion dollar black market by placing marijuana in the open market (NORML information pack 3).
It is the enforcement of the laws criminalizing the possession, use, manufacture, and distribution of marijuana that are causing the violent crime. This war on drugs is wasting the money, as well as the lives of American people. The widely recognized opinion maker William F. Buckley, Jr. writes:
...The time devoted to tracking down, arresting and then trying marijuana users and then trying marijuana users is perhaps the greatest exercise in lost time in contemporary activity. In the last two years, approximately 750,000 arrests were made in our mad, quixotic effort to stamp out marijuana. What this adds up to is millions of police hours spent on bootless missions, millions of hours of court time wasted, and millions of months in jail, using up space sorely needed to contain people who can't wait to get out in order to resume mugging and murdering (Buckley 39A).
The drug laws imprison a multitude of otherwise law abiding people, a disproportionate number of them who are poor or minorities, for non violent acts that are directed at no one but themselves (ACLU 1). Instead of eliminating drugs, the prohibition of them just fosters an illegal industry able to inflate prices. This is hauntingly familiar to the prohibition era of gangsters present when alcohol was illegal in the 1920's. Because drugs are sold on the black market, they cause violence, deaths due to no quality regulation, and diseases from sharing illegal drug paraphernalia (ACLU 1).
The American Civil Liberties advocates the full decriminalization of the use, possession, manufacture, and distribution of drugs (ACLU 1). It does this for constitutional reasons. The following is an excerpt from their policy on drugs which was adopted in 1994:
Criminalizing the use, possession, manufacture, and distribution of drugs violates the principle that the criminal law may not be used to protect individuals from the consequences of their own autonomous choices or to impose upon those individuals a majoritarian conception of morality and responsibility.....Enforcement of laws criminalizing possession, use, manufacture of distribution of drugs engender violations of civil liberties. Because drug enforcement is aimed at behavior which is inherently difficult to detect and does not involve a complaining "victim," it necessarily relies on law enforcement techniques -- such as use of undercover operations, arbitrary or invasive testing procedures, random or dragnet seizures, and similar measures -- that raise serious civil liberties concerns. These enforcement techniques lead in practice to widespread violations of civil liberties guarantees, including those secured by the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendments (ACLU 1).
The supporters of legalization believe that it will benefit society in three ways, including revenue enhancement, medical benefits, and hemp production. The ingest argument for marijuana legalization is revenue enhancement for the U.S. Government. Much of the money will be saved due to less law enforcement, court time, and the cost of incarcerating prisoners who's only crime is possession. (Schmoek 3). The U.S. spent roughly one billion dollars on marijuana enforcement last year and the DEA has proposed a 400% increase in anti-pot spending, yet domestic marijuana production has been reduced by only 10%. Further in 1989, 314,552 arrests were made for simple possession (NORML 2).
Considering America's annual marijuana harvest was worth 50.7 billion in 1989 and 41.4 billion in 1988, $28 billion greater than corn at 31.4 billion, marijuana could become the leading agricultural product in the United States (NORML 2). With trade regulations, industry regulations and consumption taxes on he product NORML has estimated that legalization would produce over $40 billion in taxable revenue (NORML 3). As Congress debates the national debt, legalization would provide the needed funds to help our economy.
Legalization advocates constantly tout marijuana's medicinal benefits. For cancer patients, marijuana reduces nausea and increases the appetite (Cauchon 4A). Marijuana also reduces epileptic seizures and reduces nerve disorders in multiple sclerosis patients (NORML 3). If it helps patients get extra quality time out of their lives, then attempts to decriminalize it should be supported. Legalizing marijuana for medical purposes, as California recently did, could provide answers about diseases and allow research to be conducted for future purposes.
An area that does not gather too much publicity in the legalization issue is hemp production. Marijuana comes from the top leaves and flowers of the female hemp plant. The fiber from the top can be used to make clothing, paper, rope, and methanol fuel. Hemp is a plant that can be grown in poor soil, thus not taking up any valuable agricultural land (NORML 4). Hemp now grows in the U.S. because of its heavy production in the 18th and 19th centuries. Seventy-Five to Ninety percent of all paper used before 1883 was hemp paper, including the first two drafts of the Declaration of Independence (Young 25). Hemp is safer for the environment. Hemp requires 40% fewer chemicals to produce paper, and, over twenty years, one acre of hemp can produce four times as much pulp as can an acre of trees (NORML 4). The production of hemp would save trees and clean up the air.
The push for legalization of Cannibis is making news across America just as it did in the 60's. Shirts are being worn with slogans like "Keep America Green." Marijuana use is glorified in movies like Dazed in Confused and by music groups like Cypress Hill and the Black Crowes. Increasing public support and media attention will slowly force the legalization issue into the forefront of the political arena. If the widespread acceptance continues among the powerful new voting block -- college students, the policy towards marijuana could change in the near future. Weighing both the costs and the benefits the decriminalization/legalization of marijuana seems inevitable. Many of the purported myths about its harmful effects have been proven false. The current war on drugs is clearly failing, and costing too many lives and too much money. There are many benefits to be gained from the Cannibis plant: increased tax revenue, safety due to governmental regulation, decreased crime and use of hard drugs, and the environmental benefits of hemp to name a few. With all these reasons taken into consideration the decriminalization/legalization of marijuana seems like a very good idea.
Works Cited
"Bring drugs within the law." The Economist 15 May 1995: 13.
Buckley, William F., Jr. "Crime is the Big Issue, But it Doesn't Separate Parties." Dallas Morning News 9 December 1994.
Cauchon, Dennis. "Marijuana: Medical Enigma." USA Today 1 Oct. 1996, national ed.: 4A.
Courtwright David T. "NO!" American Heritage Feb. - March 1995: 43, 50-56.
Goldman, Albert. Grass Roots. New York: Harper & Row 1979.
Hager, Paul. "Marijuana Myths." ICLU drug task force literature. Available: http://www.parinoia.com/drugs/mariijuana/facts/marijuana-myths.
Himmelstein, Jerome L. The Strange Career of Marijuana [sic]. Westport Connecticut: Greenwood Pres, 1983.
Incardi and McBride. "Legalization: A high risk Alternative" American Behavioral Scientist 32 (1989): 233-243.
Miner, Brad. "How Sweet is Mary Jane?" National Review 25 June 1996: 44.
National Association for the Reformation of Marijuana Laws (NORML). "Marijuana: Facts and Figures." Information Pack. Washington, DC: NORML,
n.d.
Rosenfield, Jim. ACLU Drug Policy, adopted Arpil 1994: "Decriminalization of Drugs."
[Board Minutes, April 8-9, 1994] A available: http://www.primenet.com/%7Eslackk/wosd/aclu0001.txt.
Schmoek, Kurt L. Back to the Future: The public health system's lead role in fighting drugs. Available: http://epfl2.epflbalto.org/mayor/web_page/drug.html#Decriminalization.
Young, Jim. "It's Time to Reconsider Hemp." Pulp and Paper Y5 (1994): 25.
Just Say No But Say it Loudly!
JUST SAY NO!
But say it loudly!!
A profile of cocaine and it's effects on two lives
Presented by:
J.T. Stocker
Mr. Kramer/Mrs. Locke
7C
December 13, 1995
Greek mythology tells of a young god, Morpheus, god of dreams.
Morpheus planted a special purple flower called the lotus. Soon the people of
the land smelled the sweet flowers and ate them. They immediately feel into
a deep and troubled sleep. From that day on, they awoke only long enough to
gather the lotus flowers and sleep again. Eventually they lost their strength
and willpower and wanted only to drift in and out of sleep.1 The story of the
lotus-eaters and similar tales from ancient times show us that drug use is not
new. Today this problem threatens all of our society. The worst, most deadly
of drugs, however, is cocaine. This report will talk about what cocaine is,
what it does to the human body, and two fantastic people who gave their lives
because of it.
Today, over 5 million people use cocaine each month. Each day, 3,000
people try cocaine for the first time.2 Cocaine is a white powder made from
the leaves of the cocoa plant. Cocaine is first pressed to form a paste; then,
the paste is mixed with strong chemicals to make a white, powdery mixture.
Most cocaine comes from South America. It is estimated that about 400 tons
of cocaine is smuggled out of South America each year. Half of this cocaine
ends up on the streets of the United States.
Cocaine is a stimulant. That means that when it is used, it speeds up
the way the brain works. It causes the brain to send out too many electrical
signals that then get mixed up. Because the brain tells the heart how fast
and often to beat, using cocaine can make the heart pump so fast that it
damages the muscles or can lead to a heart attack. Since the brain also tells
the lungs how often and how deep to breath, the use of cocaine can cause
those signals to get mixed up leading to a shortness of breath or the complete
failure of the lungs to work causing instant death. The use of cocaine is
seriously addicting. Monkeys will keep giving themselves doses of cocaine until
they die; most people will follow the same trend.3
The world of sports has many sad examples of people who made the poor
choice to use drugs. Perhaps the saddest is that of Lenny Bias. Len Bias
was a star on the basketball court. He was in perfect health. Len played
basketball for the University of Maryland. Some people thought he would be
the best basketball player ever. Then one day his dreams came true. He was
drafted no. 1 by the Boston Celtics to play professional basketball. "He could
jump through the roof," said Red Auerbach, president of the Celtics4. Len was
so happy that he went out to celebrate. He snorted cocaine, probably for the
first time. That would be his last time--cocaine stopped his heart and he died
instantly. Dr. Louis Caplan, New England Medical Center Hospitals, says that
using cocaine is like taking a chance on sudden death: "Cocaine's a loaded
gun."5 Len Bias choose to be on the wrong end of the gun.
Entertainers seem to live in a world exposed to many drugs. Sometimes
they, too, make poor choices. An example of this is Kurt Cobain. Kurt Cobain
was a famous rock singer for the group Nirvana. His music influenced millions
of people, and led the world of rock into a completely different direction.
While he didn't die of drugs, Kobain's use of cocaine and other drugs helped
lead to his death. When he killed himself, the news spread fast, and soon
millions of fans, all around the world, were completely shocked. "As if the loss
of Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, and Janis Joplin hadn't crushed the rock-n-roll
world, now it mourned another family member."6
Drugs don't just affect the famous--they are a crippling part of our
society. There is no reason to take drugs; they won't help anyone's
performance at school, or earn friends, or create a better sports player, or
help a career--and dead is never cool.
Bibliography
Books
Hyde, Bruce. Know About Drugs. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company.
1979.
Hyde, Margaret. Mind Drugs. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1986.
Nardo, Don. Drugs and Sports. San Diego, Lucent Books, Inc. 1990.
Shulman, Jeffrey. Focus on Cocaine and Crack. Frederick, Maryland:
Twenty-First Century Books, 1990.
Magazines
People Magazine. April 25, 1994, p. 38(8), v. 41. No Way Out, Steve
Doughterty (pg. 39-42).
Other
Encarta. Computer Software. Microsoft Home, 1995. IBM PC, 486KB, CD
ROM disc.
But say it loudly!!
A profile of cocaine and it's effects on two lives
Presented by:
J.T. Stocker
Mr. Kramer/Mrs. Locke
7C
December 13, 1995
Greek mythology tells of a young god, Morpheus, god of dreams.
Morpheus planted a special purple flower called the lotus. Soon the people of
the land smelled the sweet flowers and ate them. They immediately feel into
a deep and troubled sleep. From that day on, they awoke only long enough to
gather the lotus flowers and sleep again. Eventually they lost their strength
and willpower and wanted only to drift in and out of sleep.1 The story of the
lotus-eaters and similar tales from ancient times show us that drug use is not
new. Today this problem threatens all of our society. The worst, most deadly
of drugs, however, is cocaine. This report will talk about what cocaine is,
what it does to the human body, and two fantastic people who gave their lives
because of it.
Today, over 5 million people use cocaine each month. Each day, 3,000
people try cocaine for the first time.2 Cocaine is a white powder made from
the leaves of the cocoa plant. Cocaine is first pressed to form a paste; then,
the paste is mixed with strong chemicals to make a white, powdery mixture.
Most cocaine comes from South America. It is estimated that about 400 tons
of cocaine is smuggled out of South America each year. Half of this cocaine
ends up on the streets of the United States.
Cocaine is a stimulant. That means that when it is used, it speeds up
the way the brain works. It causes the brain to send out too many electrical
signals that then get mixed up. Because the brain tells the heart how fast
and often to beat, using cocaine can make the heart pump so fast that it
damages the muscles or can lead to a heart attack. Since the brain also tells
the lungs how often and how deep to breath, the use of cocaine can cause
those signals to get mixed up leading to a shortness of breath or the complete
failure of the lungs to work causing instant death. The use of cocaine is
seriously addicting. Monkeys will keep giving themselves doses of cocaine until
they die; most people will follow the same trend.3
The world of sports has many sad examples of people who made the poor
choice to use drugs. Perhaps the saddest is that of Lenny Bias. Len Bias
was a star on the basketball court. He was in perfect health. Len played
basketball for the University of Maryland. Some people thought he would be
the best basketball player ever. Then one day his dreams came true. He was
drafted no. 1 by the Boston Celtics to play professional basketball. "He could
jump through the roof," said Red Auerbach, president of the Celtics4. Len was
so happy that he went out to celebrate. He snorted cocaine, probably for the
first time. That would be his last time--cocaine stopped his heart and he died
instantly. Dr. Louis Caplan, New England Medical Center Hospitals, says that
using cocaine is like taking a chance on sudden death: "Cocaine's a loaded
gun."5 Len Bias choose to be on the wrong end of the gun.
Entertainers seem to live in a world exposed to many drugs. Sometimes
they, too, make poor choices. An example of this is Kurt Cobain. Kurt Cobain
was a famous rock singer for the group Nirvana. His music influenced millions
of people, and led the world of rock into a completely different direction.
While he didn't die of drugs, Kobain's use of cocaine and other drugs helped
lead to his death. When he killed himself, the news spread fast, and soon
millions of fans, all around the world, were completely shocked. "As if the loss
of Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, and Janis Joplin hadn't crushed the rock-n-roll
world, now it mourned another family member."6
Drugs don't just affect the famous--they are a crippling part of our
society. There is no reason to take drugs; they won't help anyone's
performance at school, or earn friends, or create a better sports player, or
help a career--and dead is never cool.
Bibliography
Books
Hyde, Bruce. Know About Drugs. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company.
1979.
Hyde, Margaret. Mind Drugs. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1986.
Nardo, Don. Drugs and Sports. San Diego, Lucent Books, Inc. 1990.
Shulman, Jeffrey. Focus on Cocaine and Crack. Frederick, Maryland:
Twenty-First Century Books, 1990.
Magazines
People Magazine. April 25, 1994, p. 38(8), v. 41. No Way Out, Steve
Doughterty (pg. 39-42).
Other
Encarta. Computer Software. Microsoft Home, 1995. IBM PC, 486KB, CD
ROM disc.
is the illegalization of marijuana valid
IS THE ILLEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA VALID?
The debate over the legalization of Cannabis sativa, more
commonly known as marijuana, has been one of the most heated
controversies ever to occur in the United States. Its use as a
medicine has existed for thousands of years in many countries
world wide and is documented as far back as 2700 BC in ancient
Chinese writings. When someone says ganja, cannabis, bung,
dope, grass, rasta, or weed, they are talking about the same
subject: marijuana. Marijuana should be legalized because the
government could earn money from taxes on its sale, its value to
the medical world outweighs its abuse potential, and because of
its importance to the paper and clothing industries. This action
should be taken despite efforts made by groups which say
marijuana is a harmful drug which will increase crime rates and
lead users to other more dangerous substances.
The actual story behind the legislature passed against
marijuana is quite surprising. According to Jack Herer, author of
The Emperor Wears No Clothes, the acts bringing about the
demise of hemp were part of a large conspiracy involving DuPont,
Harry J. Anslinger, commissioner of the Federal Bureau of
Narcotics (FBN), and many other influential industrial leaders
such as William Randolph Hearst and Andrew Mellon. Herer
notes that the Marijuana Tax Act, which passed in 1937,
coincidentally occurred just as the decoricator machine was
invented. With this invention, hemp would have been able to
take over competing industries almost instantaneously.
According to Popular Mechanics, "10,000 acres devoted to hemp
will produce as much paper as 40,000 acres of average [forest]
pulp land." William Hearst owned enormous timber acreage so his
interest in preventing the growth of hemp can be easily explained.
Competition from hemp would have easily driven the Hearst
paper-manufacturing company out of business and significantly
lowered the value of his land. Herer even suggests popularizing
the term "marijuana" was a strategy Hearst used in order to create
fear in the American public. Herer says "The first step in creating
hysteria was to introduce the element of fear of the unknown by
using a word that no one had ever heard of before... 'marijuana'".
DuPont's involvement in the anti-hemp campaign can also
be explained with great ease. At this time, DuPont was patenting
a new sulfuric acid process for producing wood-pulp paper.
According to the company's own records, wood-pulp products
ultimately accounted for more than 80% of all DuPont's railroad
car loadings for the 50 years the Marijuana Tax Act was passed. It
should also be said that two years before the prohibitive hemp tax
in 1937, DuPont developed nylon which was a substitute for hemp
rope. The year after the tax was passed DuPont came out with
rayon, which would have been unable to compete with the
strength of hemp fiber or its economical process of
manufacturing. "DuPont's point man was none other than Harry
Anslinger...who was appointed to the FBN by Treasury Secretary
Andrew Mellon, who was also chairman of the Mellon Bank,
DuPont's chief financial backer. Anslinger's relationship to
Mellon wasn't just political, he was also married to Mellon's niece"
(Hartsell).
The reasoning behind DuPont, Anslinger, and Hearst was
not for any moral or health related issues. They fought to prevent
the growth of this new industry so they wouldn't lose money. In
fact, the American Medical Association tried to argue for the
medical benefits of hemp. Marijuana is actually less dangerous
than alcohol, cigarettes, and even most over-the-counter
medicines or prescriptions. According to Francis J. Young, the
DEA's administrative judge, "nearly all medicines have toxic,
potentially lethal affects, but marijuana is not such a
substance...Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest
therapeutically active substances known to man. By any measure
of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within a
supervised routine of medical care" (DEA Docket No. 86-22, 57).
It doesn't make sense then, for marijuana to be illegal in the
United States when alcohol poisoning is a major cause of death
in this country and approximately 400,000 premature deaths are
attributed to cigarettes annually. Dr. Roger Pertwee, Secretary of
the International Cannabis Research Society states that as a
recreational drug, "Marijuana compares favorably to nicotine,
alcohol, and even caffeine." Under extreme amounts of alcohol a
person will experience an "inability to stand or walk without help,
stupor and near unconsciousness, lack of comprehension of what
is seen or heard, shock, and breathing and heartbeat may stop."
Even though these effects occur only under an extreme amount of
alcohol consumption, (.2-.5 BAL) the fact is smoking extreme
amounts of marijuana will do nothing more than put you to sleep,
while drinking excessive amounts of alcohol will kill you.
The most profound activist for marijuana's use as a
medicine is Dr. Lester Grinspoon, author of Marihuana: The
Forbidden Medicine. According to Grinspoon, "The only well
confirmed negative effect of marijuana is caused by the smoke,
which contains three times more tars and five times more carbon
monoxide than tobacco. But even the heaviest marijuana smokers
rarely use as much as an average tobacco smoker. And, of course,
many prefer to eat it." His book includes personal accounts of
how prescribed marijuana alleviated epilepsy, weight loss of AIDs,
nausea of chemotherapy, menstrual pains, and the severe effects
of Multiple Sclerosis. The illness with the most documentation
and harmony among doctors which marijuana has successfully
treated is MS. Grinspoon believes for MS sufferers, "Cannabis is
the drug of necessity." One patient of his, 51 year old Elizabeth
MacRory, says "It has completely changed my life...It has helped
with muscle spasms, allowed me to sleep properly, and helped
control my bladder." Marijuana also proved to be effective in the
treatment of glaucoma because its use lowers pressure on the eye.
"In a recent survey at a leading teaching hospital, 'over 60
per cent of medical students were found to be marijuana users.'
In the same survey, only 30 per cent admitted to smoking
cigarettes" (Guardian). Brian Hilliard, editor of Police Review,
says "Legalizing cannabis wouldn't do any harm to anybody. We
should be concentrating on the serious business of heroin and
amphetamines." "In the UK in 1991, 42,209 people were convicted
of marijuana charges, clogging courts and overcrowding
prisons...and almost 90 per cent of drug offenses involve
cannabis...The British government spends 500 million pounds a
year on "overall responses to drugs" but receives no tax revenue
from the estimated 1.8 billion pound illicit drug market"
(Guardian). Figures like this can be seen in the United States as
well. The US spends billions of dollars annually on the war on
drugs. If the government were to legalize marijuana, it could
reasonably place high taxes on it because people are used to
buying marijuana at extremely high prices created by the risks of
selling marijuana illegally. It could be sold at a convenient store
just like a pack of cigarettes for less than someone would pay
now, but still yield a high profit because of easy growing
requirements.
An entire industry could be created out of hemp based
products. The oils extracted from seeds could be used for fuels
and the hemp fiber, a fiber so valued for its strength that it is
used to judge the quality of other fibers, could be manufactured
into ropes, clothing, or paper. Most importantly, the money the
government would make from taxes and the money which would
be saved by not trying to prevent its use could be used for more
important things, such as serious drugs or the national debt.
The recreational use of marijuana would not stimulate crime
like some would argue. The crime rate in Amsterdam, where
marijuana is legal, is lower than many major US cities. Mario
Lap, a key drug policy advisor in the Netherlands national
government says "We've had a realistic drug policy for 30 years in
the Netherlands, and we know what works. We distinguish
between soft and hard drugs, between traffickers and users. We
try not to make people into criminals" (Houston Chronicle).
We can expect strong opposition from companies like
DuPont and paper manufacturers but the selfishness of these
corporations should not prevent its use in our society like it did
in the 1930's. Regardless of what these organizations will say
about marijuana, the fact is it has the potential to become one of
the most useful substances in the entire world. If we took action
and our government legalized it today, we would immediately see
benefits from this decision. People suffering from illnesses
ranging from manic depression to Multiple Sclerosis would be
able to experience relief. The government could make billions of
dollars off of the taxes it could impose on its sale, and its
implementation into the industrial world would create thousands
of new jobs for the economy. Also, because of its role in paper
making, the rain forests of South America could be saved from
their current fate of extinction. No recorded deaths have ever
occurred as a result of marijuana use, it is not physically addictive
like alcohol or tobacco, and most doctors will agree it is safer to
use. Marijuana being illegal has no validity at all. Due to all the
positive aspects of marijuana it should be legalized in the United
States.
The debate over the legalization of Cannabis sativa, more
commonly known as marijuana, has been one of the most heated
controversies ever to occur in the United States. Its use as a
medicine has existed for thousands of years in many countries
world wide and is documented as far back as 2700 BC in ancient
Chinese writings. When someone says ganja, cannabis, bung,
dope, grass, rasta, or weed, they are talking about the same
subject: marijuana. Marijuana should be legalized because the
government could earn money from taxes on its sale, its value to
the medical world outweighs its abuse potential, and because of
its importance to the paper and clothing industries. This action
should be taken despite efforts made by groups which say
marijuana is a harmful drug which will increase crime rates and
lead users to other more dangerous substances.
The actual story behind the legislature passed against
marijuana is quite surprising. According to Jack Herer, author of
The Emperor Wears No Clothes, the acts bringing about the
demise of hemp were part of a large conspiracy involving DuPont,
Harry J. Anslinger, commissioner of the Federal Bureau of
Narcotics (FBN), and many other influential industrial leaders
such as William Randolph Hearst and Andrew Mellon. Herer
notes that the Marijuana Tax Act, which passed in 1937,
coincidentally occurred just as the decoricator machine was
invented. With this invention, hemp would have been able to
take over competing industries almost instantaneously.
According to Popular Mechanics, "10,000 acres devoted to hemp
will produce as much paper as 40,000 acres of average [forest]
pulp land." William Hearst owned enormous timber acreage so his
interest in preventing the growth of hemp can be easily explained.
Competition from hemp would have easily driven the Hearst
paper-manufacturing company out of business and significantly
lowered the value of his land. Herer even suggests popularizing
the term "marijuana" was a strategy Hearst used in order to create
fear in the American public. Herer says "The first step in creating
hysteria was to introduce the element of fear of the unknown by
using a word that no one had ever heard of before... 'marijuana'".
DuPont's involvement in the anti-hemp campaign can also
be explained with great ease. At this time, DuPont was patenting
a new sulfuric acid process for producing wood-pulp paper.
According to the company's own records, wood-pulp products
ultimately accounted for more than 80% of all DuPont's railroad
car loadings for the 50 years the Marijuana Tax Act was passed. It
should also be said that two years before the prohibitive hemp tax
in 1937, DuPont developed nylon which was a substitute for hemp
rope. The year after the tax was passed DuPont came out with
rayon, which would have been unable to compete with the
strength of hemp fiber or its economical process of
manufacturing. "DuPont's point man was none other than Harry
Anslinger...who was appointed to the FBN by Treasury Secretary
Andrew Mellon, who was also chairman of the Mellon Bank,
DuPont's chief financial backer. Anslinger's relationship to
Mellon wasn't just political, he was also married to Mellon's niece"
(Hartsell).
The reasoning behind DuPont, Anslinger, and Hearst was
not for any moral or health related issues. They fought to prevent
the growth of this new industry so they wouldn't lose money. In
fact, the American Medical Association tried to argue for the
medical benefits of hemp. Marijuana is actually less dangerous
than alcohol, cigarettes, and even most over-the-counter
medicines or prescriptions. According to Francis J. Young, the
DEA's administrative judge, "nearly all medicines have toxic,
potentially lethal affects, but marijuana is not such a
substance...Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest
therapeutically active substances known to man. By any measure
of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within a
supervised routine of medical care" (DEA Docket No. 86-22, 57).
It doesn't make sense then, for marijuana to be illegal in the
United States when alcohol poisoning is a major cause of death
in this country and approximately 400,000 premature deaths are
attributed to cigarettes annually. Dr. Roger Pertwee, Secretary of
the International Cannabis Research Society states that as a
recreational drug, "Marijuana compares favorably to nicotine,
alcohol, and even caffeine." Under extreme amounts of alcohol a
person will experience an "inability to stand or walk without help,
stupor and near unconsciousness, lack of comprehension of what
is seen or heard, shock, and breathing and heartbeat may stop."
Even though these effects occur only under an extreme amount of
alcohol consumption, (.2-.5 BAL) the fact is smoking extreme
amounts of marijuana will do nothing more than put you to sleep,
while drinking excessive amounts of alcohol will kill you.
The most profound activist for marijuana's use as a
medicine is Dr. Lester Grinspoon, author of Marihuana: The
Forbidden Medicine. According to Grinspoon, "The only well
confirmed negative effect of marijuana is caused by the smoke,
which contains three times more tars and five times more carbon
monoxide than tobacco. But even the heaviest marijuana smokers
rarely use as much as an average tobacco smoker. And, of course,
many prefer to eat it." His book includes personal accounts of
how prescribed marijuana alleviated epilepsy, weight loss of AIDs,
nausea of chemotherapy, menstrual pains, and the severe effects
of Multiple Sclerosis. The illness with the most documentation
and harmony among doctors which marijuana has successfully
treated is MS. Grinspoon believes for MS sufferers, "Cannabis is
the drug of necessity." One patient of his, 51 year old Elizabeth
MacRory, says "It has completely changed my life...It has helped
with muscle spasms, allowed me to sleep properly, and helped
control my bladder." Marijuana also proved to be effective in the
treatment of glaucoma because its use lowers pressure on the eye.
"In a recent survey at a leading teaching hospital, 'over 60
per cent of medical students were found to be marijuana users.'
In the same survey, only 30 per cent admitted to smoking
cigarettes" (Guardian). Brian Hilliard, editor of Police Review,
says "Legalizing cannabis wouldn't do any harm to anybody. We
should be concentrating on the serious business of heroin and
amphetamines." "In the UK in 1991, 42,209 people were convicted
of marijuana charges, clogging courts and overcrowding
prisons...and almost 90 per cent of drug offenses involve
cannabis...The British government spends 500 million pounds a
year on "overall responses to drugs" but receives no tax revenue
from the estimated 1.8 billion pound illicit drug market"
(Guardian). Figures like this can be seen in the United States as
well. The US spends billions of dollars annually on the war on
drugs. If the government were to legalize marijuana, it could
reasonably place high taxes on it because people are used to
buying marijuana at extremely high prices created by the risks of
selling marijuana illegally. It could be sold at a convenient store
just like a pack of cigarettes for less than someone would pay
now, but still yield a high profit because of easy growing
requirements.
An entire industry could be created out of hemp based
products. The oils extracted from seeds could be used for fuels
and the hemp fiber, a fiber so valued for its strength that it is
used to judge the quality of other fibers, could be manufactured
into ropes, clothing, or paper. Most importantly, the money the
government would make from taxes and the money which would
be saved by not trying to prevent its use could be used for more
important things, such as serious drugs or the national debt.
The recreational use of marijuana would not stimulate crime
like some would argue. The crime rate in Amsterdam, where
marijuana is legal, is lower than many major US cities. Mario
Lap, a key drug policy advisor in the Netherlands national
government says "We've had a realistic drug policy for 30 years in
the Netherlands, and we know what works. We distinguish
between soft and hard drugs, between traffickers and users. We
try not to make people into criminals" (Houston Chronicle).
We can expect strong opposition from companies like
DuPont and paper manufacturers but the selfishness of these
corporations should not prevent its use in our society like it did
in the 1930's. Regardless of what these organizations will say
about marijuana, the fact is it has the potential to become one of
the most useful substances in the entire world. If we took action
and our government legalized it today, we would immediately see
benefits from this decision. People suffering from illnesses
ranging from manic depression to Multiple Sclerosis would be
able to experience relief. The government could make billions of
dollars off of the taxes it could impose on its sale, and its
implementation into the industrial world would create thousands
of new jobs for the economy. Also, because of its role in paper
making, the rain forests of South America could be saved from
their current fate of extinction. No recorded deaths have ever
occurred as a result of marijuana use, it is not physically addictive
like alcohol or tobacco, and most doctors will agree it is safer to
use. Marijuana being illegal has no validity at all. Due to all the
positive aspects of marijuana it should be legalized in the United
States.
Is Marijuana Dangerous to your Physical Health
Is Marijuana Dangerous to your Physical Health?
Recreational use of marijuana has been going on for many
years, and like cigarettes many people refuse to listen to health
reports. More and more reports are coming out on the effects of
marijuana on the body. Just how harmful marijuana can be is
questionable. Some health reports state that it is very
detrimental to the body while others are explaining how chemicals
extracted from the marijuana plant are being used as medication.
The problem is, just what are the effects, and how bad is it for
someone who uses this drug?
I have picked this topic because I am very interested in the
effects of marijuana on the body. It is commonly known that
marijuana is a widely used drug. Many movies depict people
having a great time, smoking marijuana, and laughing as hard as
they can. But is this really what is behind the drug? Without
looking at health reports, one may think so. If so many people
use it, how can it be bad for you? After seeing so much positive
feedback about marijuana, it would really be nice to see just
what is behind this mysterious plant.
In this paper, the researcher will explore whether or not
marijuana is harmful to your physical health. It will be shown
that marijuana is popular and that many people may not know what
they are taking into their bodies. It will be shown just what
parts of the body marijuana effects and how it effects them. The
main purpose of this collection of information is to see just
what marijuana does to the body and to determine whether the
effects are good, bad, or a combination of both. Many different
areas of research will be used.
The report "Marijuana Retains Popularity Despite Anti-drug
Attitudes" in The Dallas Times Herald by the Associated Press
shows just how popular marijuana remains despite health warnings.
A 40-something woman referred to as Ruth has a little something
to say. "It's a very nice high," she said. "Often in these drug
stories, people forget to mention that part" (The Associated
Press, A-6). Ruth is among the 17 million Americans who use
marijuana regularly. Part of the reason for marijuana's
popularity is its cheap price. John, a scientist who uses the
drug says an ounce can cost him from $40 to $100 (The Associated
Press, A-6). Another reason for its popularity that is that
"the cops basically ignored it" a few years ago, said Bill
FitzGerald, of the County Attorney's Office (The Associated
Press, A-6). Today, the county boasts a "Do Drugs, Do Time"
program targeting all drug users (The Associated Press, A-6).
"Marijuana: Is there a new reason to worry?", an article in
the March 88 issue of American Health by Winifred Gallagher had a
lot to say about just what parts of the body marijuana effects.
The majority of the effects of marijuana are caused by a chemical
called THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol). Marijuana, when
smoked, enters the body though the lungs and is passed to the
blood stream. According to Doctor Billy martin, a professor of
pharmacology at the Medical College of Virginia, THC seems to
turn on a number of biological systems (Gallagher, 92).
Harvard's Dr. Norman Zinberg studied a group of marijuana smoker
and concluded that "essentially, marijuana doesn't cause
psychological problems for the occasional user" (Gallagher, 92).
Heavy use however, is thought to create a lack of motivation, or
commonly called "burn-out". New York Hospital's Millman prefers
the term "aberrant motivation" to describe the inert attitude of
some heavy smokers" (Gallagher, 92).
"The Health Hazards of Marijuana," a report in the September
1990 issue of World & I by Gabriel G. Nahas was very informative
on the damage caused by marijuana. Marijuana effects memory and
behavior. "Marijuana really interferes with short-term memory,"
says Dr. Richard Schwartz or Georgetown University, and memory
loss is one of the main problems with kids who smoke pot" (Nahas,
287). Marijuana also effects the immune system. Guy Cabral of
the Medical College of Virginia reported that THC impairs the
competence of calls to destroy virus infected cells and tumor
cells (Nahas, 293). Marijuana also has devastating effects on
human mental development, and cause metal disorders.
An article in Science News on February 20, 1988 by Rick
Weiss called "Take Two Puffs and Call Me in the Morning" had
something completely different to say. In the U.S., scientists
have discovered that marijuana can ease the nausea from
chemotherapy in cancer patients. "Marijuana's use in reducing
nausea appears to be quite widespread..." (Weiss, 123).
Marijuana is also in use by people who suffer from glaucoma.
"Marijuana lowers the pressure that build up behind the eyes as a
result of having glaucoma" (Weiss, 122). It was also discovered
that there are several receptor sites in the brain that control
motor functions, learning and memory. Hence, marijuana may be
useful in treating a problem in many of those areas.
Based on the information gathered, I have concluded that the
effects of marijuana on the body are very detrimental.
Marijuana's effects on memory and the immune system can be very
disastrous. For someone still in school, a good memory is
needed, along with much motivation. Marijuana attacks both of
these elements in the body and can really hurt a hard working
student.
It seems however, most of the complications that were
brought up occur mostly in heavy, chronic users. I am sure that
along with these complications, the same complications as with
cigarette smoking come up. Occasional use of marijuana doesn't
seem to cause many problems. However, as with any drug, the user
can become accustomed to its use and not be able to function
properly. So even occasional use can lead to disaster.
Marijuana effects many different parts of the body in many
ways. Being that marijuana is fat-soluble, it can remain in the
body for over 4-weeks after use. Researchers are unable to
determine what the chemicals are doing to the body while they
remain there over this period of time. This just proves that
there is much more research to be done, and that in the future it
may be seen that marijuana is much more dangerous than even shown
in this paper.
As for using marijuana as medicine, I think the same goes as
above. A lot more research has to be done on the side effects of
THC before any real use can be done. There have been many drugs
up to now that have seemed useful, but in the end have caused
more harm to the body than good.
Health Implications
I think that marijuana use effects myself and my peers very
much. As I go to parties and the such, it can be seen that drug
use is around, no one can deny it. Its scary to see just what
some people are doing to themselves, and they don't even know it.
I think that if some of the marijuana users took some time
to read this, and many of the other reports on the effects of
marijuana, they would think twice before lighting up next time.
Maybe they will wonder just what harm they have done to their
body already.
Many people that smoke marijuana have the effects that are
discussed in this paper. Its can plainly be seen, their lack of
motivation and kind of "spaceyness" that is commonly associated
with marijuana smoking. I often wonder what these people would
be like if they stopped their use and allowed themselves to rid
their body of the THC and its by-products.
Marijuana use is still very popular throughout the United
States, and the fact that people are not educated enough about
its effects is very detrimental. These people are hurting
themselves, and they don't know (and many just don't care) what
they are doing to their bodies. If marijuana use was to grow too
much, we may have a country of unmotivated people, with many more
health problems due to their immune deficiencies. Where will we
be then?
Works Cited
The Associated Press, "Marijuana retains popularity despite
anti-drug attitudes", Dallas Times Herald, p.A-6, November
18, 1990.
Gallagher, Winifred, "Marijuana: Is there a new reason to
worry?", American Health, p.92-104, March 1988.
Nahas, Gabriel G., "The Health Hazards of Marijuana", World & I,
p.286-293, September, 1990.
Weiss, Rick, "Take Two Puffs and Call Me in the Morning", Science
News, p.122-123. February 20, 1988, Vol 133. No. 8.
Recreational use of marijuana has been going on for many
years, and like cigarettes many people refuse to listen to health
reports. More and more reports are coming out on the effects of
marijuana on the body. Just how harmful marijuana can be is
questionable. Some health reports state that it is very
detrimental to the body while others are explaining how chemicals
extracted from the marijuana plant are being used as medication.
The problem is, just what are the effects, and how bad is it for
someone who uses this drug?
I have picked this topic because I am very interested in the
effects of marijuana on the body. It is commonly known that
marijuana is a widely used drug. Many movies depict people
having a great time, smoking marijuana, and laughing as hard as
they can. But is this really what is behind the drug? Without
looking at health reports, one may think so. If so many people
use it, how can it be bad for you? After seeing so much positive
feedback about marijuana, it would really be nice to see just
what is behind this mysterious plant.
In this paper, the researcher will explore whether or not
marijuana is harmful to your physical health. It will be shown
that marijuana is popular and that many people may not know what
they are taking into their bodies. It will be shown just what
parts of the body marijuana effects and how it effects them. The
main purpose of this collection of information is to see just
what marijuana does to the body and to determine whether the
effects are good, bad, or a combination of both. Many different
areas of research will be used.
The report "Marijuana Retains Popularity Despite Anti-drug
Attitudes" in The Dallas Times Herald by the Associated Press
shows just how popular marijuana remains despite health warnings.
A 40-something woman referred to as Ruth has a little something
to say. "It's a very nice high," she said. "Often in these drug
stories, people forget to mention that part" (The Associated
Press, A-6). Ruth is among the 17 million Americans who use
marijuana regularly. Part of the reason for marijuana's
popularity is its cheap price. John, a scientist who uses the
drug says an ounce can cost him from $40 to $100 (The Associated
Press, A-6). Another reason for its popularity that is that
"the cops basically ignored it" a few years ago, said Bill
FitzGerald, of the County Attorney's Office (The Associated
Press, A-6). Today, the county boasts a "Do Drugs, Do Time"
program targeting all drug users (The Associated Press, A-6).
"Marijuana: Is there a new reason to worry?", an article in
the March 88 issue of American Health by Winifred Gallagher had a
lot to say about just what parts of the body marijuana effects.
The majority of the effects of marijuana are caused by a chemical
called THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol). Marijuana, when
smoked, enters the body though the lungs and is passed to the
blood stream. According to Doctor Billy martin, a professor of
pharmacology at the Medical College of Virginia, THC seems to
turn on a number of biological systems (Gallagher, 92).
Harvard's Dr. Norman Zinberg studied a group of marijuana smoker
and concluded that "essentially, marijuana doesn't cause
psychological problems for the occasional user" (Gallagher, 92).
Heavy use however, is thought to create a lack of motivation, or
commonly called "burn-out". New York Hospital's Millman prefers
the term "aberrant motivation" to describe the inert attitude of
some heavy smokers" (Gallagher, 92).
"The Health Hazards of Marijuana," a report in the September
1990 issue of World & I by Gabriel G. Nahas was very informative
on the damage caused by marijuana. Marijuana effects memory and
behavior. "Marijuana really interferes with short-term memory,"
says Dr. Richard Schwartz or Georgetown University, and memory
loss is one of the main problems with kids who smoke pot" (Nahas,
287). Marijuana also effects the immune system. Guy Cabral of
the Medical College of Virginia reported that THC impairs the
competence of calls to destroy virus infected cells and tumor
cells (Nahas, 293). Marijuana also has devastating effects on
human mental development, and cause metal disorders.
An article in Science News on February 20, 1988 by Rick
Weiss called "Take Two Puffs and Call Me in the Morning" had
something completely different to say. In the U.S., scientists
have discovered that marijuana can ease the nausea from
chemotherapy in cancer patients. "Marijuana's use in reducing
nausea appears to be quite widespread..." (Weiss, 123).
Marijuana is also in use by people who suffer from glaucoma.
"Marijuana lowers the pressure that build up behind the eyes as a
result of having glaucoma" (Weiss, 122). It was also discovered
that there are several receptor sites in the brain that control
motor functions, learning and memory. Hence, marijuana may be
useful in treating a problem in many of those areas.
Based on the information gathered, I have concluded that the
effects of marijuana on the body are very detrimental.
Marijuana's effects on memory and the immune system can be very
disastrous. For someone still in school, a good memory is
needed, along with much motivation. Marijuana attacks both of
these elements in the body and can really hurt a hard working
student.
It seems however, most of the complications that were
brought up occur mostly in heavy, chronic users. I am sure that
along with these complications, the same complications as with
cigarette smoking come up. Occasional use of marijuana doesn't
seem to cause many problems. However, as with any drug, the user
can become accustomed to its use and not be able to function
properly. So even occasional use can lead to disaster.
Marijuana effects many different parts of the body in many
ways. Being that marijuana is fat-soluble, it can remain in the
body for over 4-weeks after use. Researchers are unable to
determine what the chemicals are doing to the body while they
remain there over this period of time. This just proves that
there is much more research to be done, and that in the future it
may be seen that marijuana is much more dangerous than even shown
in this paper.
As for using marijuana as medicine, I think the same goes as
above. A lot more research has to be done on the side effects of
THC before any real use can be done. There have been many drugs
up to now that have seemed useful, but in the end have caused
more harm to the body than good.
Health Implications
I think that marijuana use effects myself and my peers very
much. As I go to parties and the such, it can be seen that drug
use is around, no one can deny it. Its scary to see just what
some people are doing to themselves, and they don't even know it.
I think that if some of the marijuana users took some time
to read this, and many of the other reports on the effects of
marijuana, they would think twice before lighting up next time.
Maybe they will wonder just what harm they have done to their
body already.
Many people that smoke marijuana have the effects that are
discussed in this paper. Its can plainly be seen, their lack of
motivation and kind of "spaceyness" that is commonly associated
with marijuana smoking. I often wonder what these people would
be like if they stopped their use and allowed themselves to rid
their body of the THC and its by-products.
Marijuana use is still very popular throughout the United
States, and the fact that people are not educated enough about
its effects is very detrimental. These people are hurting
themselves, and they don't know (and many just don't care) what
they are doing to their bodies. If marijuana use was to grow too
much, we may have a country of unmotivated people, with many more
health problems due to their immune deficiencies. Where will we
be then?
Works Cited
The Associated Press, "Marijuana retains popularity despite
anti-drug attitudes", Dallas Times Herald, p.A-6, November
18, 1990.
Gallagher, Winifred, "Marijuana: Is there a new reason to
worry?", American Health, p.92-104, March 1988.
Nahas, Gabriel G., "The Health Hazards of Marijuana", World & I,
p.286-293, September, 1990.
Weiss, Rick, "Take Two Puffs and Call Me in the Morning", Science
News, p.122-123. February 20, 1988, Vol 133. No. 8.
Is Drug Testing The answer
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ÿÿÿÿ À F Microsoft Works
MSWorksWPDoc ô9²q ÐÏࡱá > þÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿJoby Yobe
Rosen
English 1C
05 December 1996
Is Drug Testing the Answer?
Why do humans seek an alternate reality? An alternate reality being a place or frame of mind that is somehowght 58) Pills called "Golden Seal" can be purchased at any health food store. Golden Seal induces urination and therefore flushes out toxins from the body. All drug tests have counteragents to pass them. This again makes drug testing ineffective.
Constitutional rights are given to all Americans. Why then should drug testing be allowed to violate them. Professor Bob Shoop argues that drug testing may violate personal rights guaranteed in the Fourth Amendment.(15) Our Constitutional right to privacyþ
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Š- š- š- š- š-
à=Ð/ Ð8 d š- ÿÿÿÿ к- - Ž Joby Yobe
Rosen
English 1C
05 December 1996
Is Drug Testing the Answer?
Why do humans seek an alternate reality? An alternate reality being a place or frame of mind that is somehow separated from actual reality. Actual reality contains all the true elements of life. These elements include work, school, having children, and paying bills. Life is full of adversities that humans must learn to cope with. Coping comes in many forms. It can be a walk in the park, some quiet time with a loved one, or even reading a good book. Conversely, coping can come in the form of substance abuse. Substance abuse can take humans to that alternate reality they seek. Different drugs have different effects on the mind and body. The reason for the effect is the same no matter what drug is used. This reason is to escape reality.
Addiction follows this escape from reality. Once addiction comes into play, it is no longer a matter of escaping. People addicted to drugs, such as cocaine, need the drug in order to function. Without the drug they fiend for, basic human functions cannot even be performed. Imagine not even being able to get out of bed and use the restroom without injecting heroin. Monetary costs to a drug abusers can be tremendous. Those addicted to cocaine can have habits costing more than $3000 a week. Since not all cocaine addicts are wealthy, criminal activities are the source of this income.
Drugs have taken over the streets of America. Billions of dollars are made each year on the manufacture and sale of drugs. Billions more are spent on trying to stop the drug problem. Four hundred million dollars a year is spent on drug testing. Drug testing is done in several areas. Athletes, employees in the business world, and those in law enforcement are the top three tested. Is drug testing a violation of the fourth amendment constitutional right? Does testing Americans really stop the drug problem? These are the issues that are facing this country as the start of a new year is approaching.
Why test athletes? Athletes are among the lowest percentage of drug users.(Kindred 219) In order to participate in sports, the body must be healthy and in top physical condition. Therefore, adding drugs to this would only make the athlete perform poorly. Steroids and other growth hormones should continue to be tested for, especially in high school football. Student athletes are tested on a random basis with no probable cause. This system should be replaced with a probable cause for suspicion system. If an athlete gives signs of drug abuse, only at that point should a test be given.
The majority of drug testing occurs in the business world. Employers want to obtain a drug-free workplace. Tests are implemented either at the application for employment or randomly during employment. The results of these tests do not carry any criminal penalties with them. The penalty for failure is the termination of employment. However, this does not solve the problem of drug abuse. Employees seek a new place of employment that does not test for drugs and continue their habits. Drug testing is obviously not the answer. What can employers do to stop drug abuse in the workplace?
Educating their employees about the effects of drug use can be the first step. New methods of prevention must be implemented. Simply catching a drug user and refusing employment does not help the person get off drugs. Treatment should be offered as an alternative to discharge. Statistics show that employee drug use is at an all time high in 1996. With an estimated $400 million dollars being spent to test employees. This figure is expected to reach the billion dollar mark in two years.(Shoop 15) That money should be used for prevention and treatment not merely detection. Employers must identify whether the employee is using drugs casually on the weekend or if he/she comes to work under the influence.
Employees working under the influence present a greater problem than a casual weekend user. Working under the influence of drugs such as cocaine puts the entire company at risk.
Drug tests have numerous loopholes. Several kits are available to consumers. These kits flush out the system of toxins, mainly marijuana. Clean urine can be purchased for $20 at laboratories.(Kni is the basis for this argument. Drug testing makes it almost public material that a person is a user. Private matters such as the use of drugs should be kept just that, private.
What are the alternatives to drug testing? Legalization of certain drugs would greatly help the situation. Billions of dollars are spent each year in the so called "war on drugs". Crimes related to illegal drugs would no longer exist. Granted, drugs would become more accepted. With this must come more education to the younger generations. Legalization and education are the only answers possible to the question of solving the drug problem.
Legalizing certain drugs would eliminate drug dealers, drug smugglers, and all those associated with drug trafficking. The profits from drug sales would then turn over to the government. Pharmacies would then be able to sell drugs. These pharmacies could be licensed and have to pay taxes on the drugs, meaning huge profits for government. The value of drugs would decrease tremendously. The $3000 a week cocaine habit would turn into a $20 a week habit if purchased at a pharmacy. Billions and billions of dollars could then be spent on education, the environment, and even drug education.
As with prohibition, a significant boom in drug use would immediately follow legalization. However, as with alcohol, this trend would then level off. Laws that accompany alcohol use could also be applied to drugs. The main argument against drug legalization is the concern that drug use would be seen in public. Legalization of drugs would cut 50% of the court cases each year.(Sullum 37) Courts could then focus on more serious crimes such as murder.
Whatever the solution, the problem is still clear. Something must be done about the drug problem in the United States. Tactics being implemented right now in 1996 are just not working. The future is uncertain because so many Americans have divided opinions about what to do. Government officials are also divided. There must come a day when all prejudices and personal beliefs must be put aside for the benefit of the future generations. When will this day come? That is unclear.
d use the restroom without injecting heroin. Monetary costs to a drug abusers can be tremendous. Those addicte Ž {
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Rosen
English 1C
05 December 1996
Is Drug Testing the Answer?
Why do humans seek an alternate reality? An alternate reality being a place or frame of mind that is somehowght 58) Pills called "Golden Seal" can be purchased at any health food store. Golden Seal induces urination and therefore flushes out toxins from the body. All drug tests have counteragents to pass them. This again makes drug testing ineffective.
Constitutional rights are given to all Americans. Why then should drug testing be allowed to violate them. Professor Bob Shoop argues that drug testing may violate personal rights guaranteed in the Fourth Amendment.(15) Our Constitutional right to privacyþ
N‰ ‰ °T› Ð ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ P €-
Š- š- š- š- š-
à=Ð/ Ð8 d š- ÿÿÿÿ к- - Ž Joby Yobe
Rosen
English 1C
05 December 1996
Is Drug Testing the Answer?
Why do humans seek an alternate reality? An alternate reality being a place or frame of mind that is somehow separated from actual reality. Actual reality contains all the true elements of life. These elements include work, school, having children, and paying bills. Life is full of adversities that humans must learn to cope with. Coping comes in many forms. It can be a walk in the park, some quiet time with a loved one, or even reading a good book. Conversely, coping can come in the form of substance abuse. Substance abuse can take humans to that alternate reality they seek. Different drugs have different effects on the mind and body. The reason for the effect is the same no matter what drug is used. This reason is to escape reality.
Addiction follows this escape from reality. Once addiction comes into play, it is no longer a matter of escaping. People addicted to drugs, such as cocaine, need the drug in order to function. Without the drug they fiend for, basic human functions cannot even be performed. Imagine not even being able to get out of bed and use the restroom without injecting heroin. Monetary costs to a drug abusers can be tremendous. Those addicted to cocaine can have habits costing more than $3000 a week. Since not all cocaine addicts are wealthy, criminal activities are the source of this income.
Drugs have taken over the streets of America. Billions of dollars are made each year on the manufacture and sale of drugs. Billions more are spent on trying to stop the drug problem. Four hundred million dollars a year is spent on drug testing. Drug testing is done in several areas. Athletes, employees in the business world, and those in law enforcement are the top three tested. Is drug testing a violation of the fourth amendment constitutional right? Does testing Americans really stop the drug problem? These are the issues that are facing this country as the start of a new year is approaching.
Why test athletes? Athletes are among the lowest percentage of drug users.(Kindred 219) In order to participate in sports, the body must be healthy and in top physical condition. Therefore, adding drugs to this would only make the athlete perform poorly. Steroids and other growth hormones should continue to be tested for, especially in high school football. Student athletes are tested on a random basis with no probable cause. This system should be replaced with a probable cause for suspicion system. If an athlete gives signs of drug abuse, only at that point should a test be given.
The majority of drug testing occurs in the business world. Employers want to obtain a drug-free workplace. Tests are implemented either at the application for employment or randomly during employment. The results of these tests do not carry any criminal penalties with them. The penalty for failure is the termination of employment. However, this does not solve the problem of drug abuse. Employees seek a new place of employment that does not test for drugs and continue their habits. Drug testing is obviously not the answer. What can employers do to stop drug abuse in the workplace?
Educating their employees about the effects of drug use can be the first step. New methods of prevention must be implemented. Simply catching a drug user and refusing employment does not help the person get off drugs. Treatment should be offered as an alternative to discharge. Statistics show that employee drug use is at an all time high in 1996. With an estimated $400 million dollars being spent to test employees. This figure is expected to reach the billion dollar mark in two years.(Shoop 15) That money should be used for prevention and treatment not merely detection. Employers must identify whether the employee is using drugs casually on the weekend or if he/she comes to work under the influence.
Employees working under the influence present a greater problem than a casual weekend user. Working under the influence of drugs such as cocaine puts the entire company at risk.
Drug tests have numerous loopholes. Several kits are available to consumers. These kits flush out the system of toxins, mainly marijuana. Clean urine can be purchased for $20 at laboratories.(Kni is the basis for this argument. Drug testing makes it almost public material that a person is a user. Private matters such as the use of drugs should be kept just that, private.
What are the alternatives to drug testing? Legalization of certain drugs would greatly help the situation. Billions of dollars are spent each year in the so called "war on drugs". Crimes related to illegal drugs would no longer exist. Granted, drugs would become more accepted. With this must come more education to the younger generations. Legalization and education are the only answers possible to the question of solving the drug problem.
Legalizing certain drugs would eliminate drug dealers, drug smugglers, and all those associated with drug trafficking. The profits from drug sales would then turn over to the government. Pharmacies would then be able to sell drugs. These pharmacies could be licensed and have to pay taxes on the drugs, meaning huge profits for government. The value of drugs would decrease tremendously. The $3000 a week cocaine habit would turn into a $20 a week habit if purchased at a pharmacy. Billions and billions of dollars could then be spent on education, the environment, and even drug education.
As with prohibition, a significant boom in drug use would immediately follow legalization. However, as with alcohol, this trend would then level off. Laws that accompany alcohol use could also be applied to drugs. The main argument against drug legalization is the concern that drug use would be seen in public. Legalization of drugs would cut 50% of the court cases each year.(Sullum 37) Courts could then focus on more serious crimes such as murder.
Whatever the solution, the problem is still clear. Something must be done about the drug problem in the United States. Tactics being implemented right now in 1996 are just not working. The future is uncertain because so many Americans have divided opinions about what to do. Government officials are also divided. There must come a day when all prejudices and personal beliefs must be put aside for the benefit of the future generations. When will this day come? That is unclear.
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Innercity substance abuse
Substance abuse is an ever increasing epidemic facing America's
inner-city minorities. There are several different drugs that are gaining
popularity amongst inner-city youths 1. Juice, that is marijuana soaked in
embalming fluid is starting to show up in more and more inner east coast
cities 2. Crack or rock cocaine is by far one of the most addicting drugs out
there, it's been engulfing America's inner-cities since the early 80's 3.
Heroin, is also making a comeback 4. Alcohol and marijuana are still very
popular in the lower and upper classes 5. There are some very distinctive
differences in the substance abuse seen in the less fortunate classes and the
abuse in the middle and upper classes. The upper classes drug of choose is
powder cocaine. The less fortunate classes prefer rock cocaine. Alcohol is
popular in both classes but also in different forms. The upper and middle
class teenagers seem to want to experiment more with designer or new age
drugs. The reason that there is so much media hype about the drug abuse
amongst the poor is because the rich have the political power to cover it up,
the poor don't.
Crack is cocaine mixed with baking soda and cooked in to rock form
6. Even though crack and cocaine are the same drug (just in different forms)
the courts give out stiffer sentences for crack offenders than powder cocaine
offenders 7. According to federal law if a person is caught with five grams
of crack they get a mandatory five year sentence 8. To get a five year
sentence for trafficking powder cocaine a person would have to be caught
with 500 grams 9. African-Americans account for 88.3 percent of all federal
crack distributors 10. This sentencing shows how the judicial system goes
harder on black people for drug violations than whites 11.
The upper and middle class teens do there far share of drugs 12. Growing
more and more popular amongst upper and middle class teenagers is a drug
called Ritilin 13. Ritilin, was designed to help children suffering for ADHD
14. The teenagers get a hold of some Ritilin and mash it in to a powder and
snort it like cocaine 15. "It gives you the same feeling that cocaine does " say
on collage freshman 16. Another very poplar drug amongst the upper class
teenagers is nitris-oxide better known as laughing gas 17. Teenagers is fill
a balloon with the laughing gas and inhale 18. Laughing gas gives it's
victims a ten second high by denying the brain oxygen 19.
To get an accurate perceptive of substance abuse in an inner city
environment, I conducted an interview with T.J, an 18 year old black crack
addict from uptown Manhattan.
Here are some excerpts from our conversion.
Me: How did you start using drugs?
T.J: It started when I was about 11 smokin' weed. After a while weed wasn't
getting me high enough. So I searched for a new thing then I found the big
boy (crack). My first time smokin' crack, I bought a five dollar rock off this
nigga on 115th and Saint Nicks. I went back to my rest and smoked that shit
up. I loved the high. It took me to another planet and shit. The next day I
went back and bought a ten dollar rock and it hasn't stopped since.
Me: How long ago was that?
T.J: Three years, kid.
Me: What has your crack addiction done to your life?
T.J: What life? Crack is my life. My moms won't talk to me. My family, if
they see me they don't say shit. My only friend is my pipe. I done stole shit
from my moms, my boys and just almost anybody I come across. If I don't
get my shit for a while I start shaking. It's like food for me. I need it to
survive.
Me: Did you finish high school?
T.J: Naw kid, like five months after I hit the pipe I dropped out.
Me: What are you trying to do about you problem?
T.J: Well right now I'm in Detox. I'm trying to get my life back on track. It's
mad hard though.
To get the middle class version of drug abuse I interviewed Molly, a white
19 year old student at the University of New Mexico.
Me: How did you start using drugs?
Molly: Well, I started drinking alcohol at 15. I loved the feeling I got for
being drunk. Then I tried pot at my friend's party. This is twice as good as
beer, I thought. It seemed every new drug I tried I like better then the last
one. I started tripping on acid when I get home from school. Then my friend's
brother stole a tank of laughing gas. I loved it.
Me: Did you ever try cocaine?
Molly: I do coke every once and a while. But not half as much as acid, pot
and laughing gas.
Me: Why not?
Molly: Because it costs too much. The reason I do the other drugs so much is
that I get them free at frat parties. But you don't see people passing out coke.
If they did, I'd do it.
These two people are very different ones black, ones white, ones a man ,
ones a woman, ones a high school drop out, the others enrolled in a state
university. They probably have only have three common traits, they are
human beings, Americans and drug abusers. Inner-city minorities are treated
very differently when it comes to prosecution. The inner city minorities drug
of choice is crack and the sentences are much more harsh for crack offenders,
then they are for cocaine offenders. This is one of the prime examples of
institutionalized racism in America.
I feel that the way to combat all kinds of drug abuse is through early
intervention. Recovering addicts should meet and share their accounts with
pre-adolescent children. Then there should be a presentation of the damages
that drugs do to the body and mind. I believe that the children in the inner
cities should have a presenter who is from their kind of environment. Also,
this holds true for the middle and upper class children. For example, if a
valley girl from Beverly Hills goes to Harlem and tells her tales of how she
inhaled huge balloons filled with laughing gas everyday, it would no purpose
because the children would have no clue what she was talking about.
ENDNOTES
1. Leland,74
2. Leland,74
3. Smolowe,44
4. Smolowe,45
5. Leland,75
6. Leland,74
7.Smolowe,44
8.Leland,75
9.Leland,75
10.Leland,74
11. Leland,75
12. Smolowe,45
13. Leland,75
14. Smolowe,44
15. Smolowe,45
16. Smolowe, 44
17. Leland,75
18. Leland,74
19. Smolowe,44
Substance abuse is an ever increasing epidemic facing America's
inner-city minorities. There are several different drugs that are gaining
popularity amongst inner-city youths 1. Juice, that is marijuana soaked in
embalming fluid is starting to show up in more and more inner east coast
cities 2. Crack or rock cocaine is by far one of the most addicting drugs out
there, it's been engulfing America's inner-cities since the early 80's 3.
Heroin, is also making a comeback 4. Alcohol and marijuana are still very
popular in the lower and upper classes 5. There are some very distinctive
differences in the substance abuse seen in the less fortunate classes and the
abuse in the middle and upper classes. The upper classes drug of choose is
powder cocaine. The less fortunate classes prefer rock cocaine. Alcohol is
popular in both classes but also in different forms. The upper and middle
class teenagers seem to want to experiment more with designer or new age
drugs. The reason that there is so much media hype about the drug abuse
amongst the poor is because the rich have the political power to cover it up,
the poor don't.
Crack is cocaine mixed with baking soda and cooked in to rock form
6. Even though crack and cocaine are the same drug (just in different forms)
the courts give out stiffer sentences for crack offenders than powder cocaine
offenders 7. According to federal law if a person is caught with five grams
of crack they get a mandatory five year sentence 8. To get a five year
sentence for trafficking powder cocaine a person would have to be caught
with 500 grams 9. African-Americans account for 88.3 percent of all federal
crack distributors 10. This sentencing shows how the judicial system goes
harder on black people for drug violations than whites 11.
The upper and middle class teens do there far share of drugs 12. Growing
more and more popular amongst upper and middle class teenagers is a drug
called Ritilin 13. Ritilin, was designed to help children suffering for ADHD
14. The teenagers get a hold of some Ritilin and mash it in to a powder and
snort it like cocaine 15. "It gives you the same feeling that cocaine does " say
on collage freshman 16. Another very poplar drug amongst the upper class
teenagers is nitris-oxide better known as laughing gas 17. Teenagers is fill
a balloon with the laughing gas and inhale 18. Laughing gas gives it's
victims a ten second high by denying the brain oxygen 19.
To get an accurate perceptive of substance abuse in an inner city
environment, I conducted an interview with T.J, an 18 year old black crack
addict from uptown Manhattan.
Here are some excerpts from our conversion.
Me: How did you start using drugs?
T.J: It started when I was about 11 smokin' weed. After a while weed wasn't
getting me high enough. So I searched for a new thing then I found the big
boy (crack). My first time smokin' crack, I bought a five dollar rock off this
nigga on 115th and Saint Nicks. I went back to my rest and smoked that shit
up. I loved the high. It took me to another planet and shit. The next day I
went back and bought a ten dollar rock and it hasn't stopped since.
Me: How long ago was that?
T.J: Three years, kid.
Me: What has your crack addiction done to your life?
T.J: What life? Crack is my life. My moms won't talk to me. My family, if
they see me they don't say shit. My only friend is my pipe. I done stole shit
from my moms, my boys and just almost anybody I come across. If I don't
get my shit for a while I start shaking. It's like food for me. I need it to
survive.
Me: Did you finish high school?
T.J: Naw kid, like five months after I hit the pipe I dropped out.
Me: What are you trying to do about you problem?
T.J: Well right now I'm in Detox. I'm trying to get my life back on track. It's
mad hard though.
To get the middle class version of drug abuse I interviewed Molly, a white
19 year old student at the University of New Mexico.
Me: How did you start using drugs?
Molly: Well, I started drinking alcohol at 15. I loved the feeling I got for
being drunk. Then I tried pot at my friend's party. This is twice as good as
beer, I thought. It seemed every new drug I tried I like better then the last
one. I started tripping on acid when I get home from school. Then my friend's
brother stole a tank of laughing gas. I loved it.
Me: Did you ever try cocaine?
Molly: I do coke every once and a while. But not half as much as acid, pot
and laughing gas.
Me: Why not?
Molly: Because it costs too much. The reason I do the other drugs so much is
that I get them free at frat parties. But you don't see people passing out coke.
If they did, I'd do it.
These two people are very different ones black, ones white, ones a man ,
ones a woman, ones a high school drop out, the others enrolled in a state
university. They probably have only have three common traits, they are
human beings, Americans and drug abusers. Inner-city minorities are treated
very differently when it comes to prosecution. The inner city minorities drug
of choice is crack and the sentences are much more harsh for crack offenders,
then they are for cocaine offenders. This is one of the prime examples of
institutionalized racism in America.
I feel that the way to combat all kinds of drug abuse is through early
intervention. Recovering addicts should meet and share their accounts with
pre-adolescent children. Then there should be a presentation of the damages
that drugs do to the body and mind. I believe that the children in the inner
cities should have a presenter who is from their kind of environment. Also,
this holds true for the middle and upper class children. For example, if a
valley girl from Beverly Hills goes to Harlem and tells her tales of how she
inhaled huge balloons filled with laughing gas everyday, it would no purpose
because the children would have no clue what she was talking about.
ENDNOTES
1. Leland,74
2. Leland,74
3. Smolowe,44
4. Smolowe,45
5. Leland,75
6. Leland,74
7.Smolowe,44
8.Leland,75
9.Leland,75
10.Leland,74
11. Leland,75
12. Smolowe,45
13. Leland,75
14. Smolowe,44
15. Smolowe,45
16. Smolowe, 44
17. Leland,75
18. Leland,74
19. Smolowe,44
Substance abuse is an ever increasing epidemic facing America's
inner-city minorities. There are several different drugs that are gaining
popularity amongst inner-city youths 1. Juice, that is marijuana soaked in
embalming fluid is starting to show up in more and more inner east coast
cities 2. Crack or rock cocaine is by far one of the most addicting drugs out
there, it's been engulfing America's inner-cities since the early 80's 3.
Heroin, is also making a comeback 4. Alcohol and marijuana are still very
popular in the lower and upper classes 5. There are some very distinctive
differences in the substance abuse seen in the less fortunate classes and the
abuse in the middle and upper classes. The upper classes drug of choose is
powder cocaine. The less fortunate classes prefer rock cocaine. Alcohol is
popular in both classes but also in different forms. The upper and middle
class teenagers seem to want to experiment more with designer or new age
drugs. The reason that there is so much media hype about the drug abuse
amongst the poor is because the rich have the political power to cover it up,
the poor don't.
Crack is cocaine mixed with baking soda and cooked in to rock form
6. Even though crack and cocaine are the same drug (just in different forms)
the courts give out stiffer sentences for crack offenders than powder cocaine
offenders 7. According to federal law if a person is caught with five grams
of crack they get a mandatory five year sentence 8. To get a five year
sentence for trafficking powder cocaine a person would have to be caught
with 500 grams 9. African-Americans account for 88.3 percent of all federal
crack distributors 10. This sentencing shows how the judicial system goes
harder on black people for drug violations than whites 11.
The upper and middle class teens do there far share of drugs 12. Growing
more and more popular amongst upper and middle class teenagers is a drug
called Ritilin 13. Ritilin, was designed to help children suffering for ADHD
14. The teenagers get a hold of some Ritilin and mash it in to a powder and
snort it like cocaine 15. "It gives you the same feeling that cocaine does " say
on collage freshman 16. Another very poplar drug amongst the upper class
teenagers is nitris-oxide better known as laughing gas 17. Teenagers is fill
a balloon with the laughing gas and inhale 18. Laughing gas gives it's
victims a ten second high by denying the brain oxygen 19.
To get an accurate perceptive of substance abuse in an inner city
environment, I conducted an interview with T.J, an 18 year old black crack
addict from uptown Manhattan.
Here are some excerpts from our conversion.
Me: How did you start using drugs?
T.J: It started when I was about 11 smokin' weed. After a while weed wasn't
getting me high enough. So I searched for a new thing then I found the big
boy (crack). My first time smokin' crack, I bought a five dollar rock off this
nigga on 115th and Saint Nicks. I went back to my rest and smoked that shit
up. I loved the high. It took me to another planet and shit. The next day I
went back and bought a ten dollar rock and it hasn't stopped since.
Me: How long ago was that?
T.J: Three years, kid.
Me: What has your crack addiction done to your life?
T.J: What life? Crack is my life. My moms won't talk to me. My family, if
they see me they don't say shit. My only friend is my pipe. I done stole shit
from my moms, my boys and just almost anybody I come across. If I don't
get my shit for a while I start shaking. It's like food for me. I need it to
survive.
Me: Did you finish high school?
T.J: Naw kid, like five months after I hit the pipe I dropped out.
Me: What are you trying to do about you problem?
T.J: Well right now I'm in Detox. I'm trying to get my life back on track. It's
mad hard though.
To get the middle class version of drug abuse I interviewed Molly, a white
19 year old student at the University of New Mexico.
Me: How did you start using drugs?
Molly: Well, I started drinking alcohol at 15. I loved the feeling I got for
being drunk. Then I tried pot at my friend's party. This is twice as good as
beer, I thought. It seemed every new drug I tried I like better then the last
one. I started tripping on acid when I get home from school. Then my friend's
brother stole a tank of laughing gas. I loved it.
Me: Did you ever try cocaine?
Molly: I do coke every once and a while. But not half as much as acid, pot
and laughing gas.
Me: Why not?
Molly: Because it costs too much. The reason I do the other drugs so much is
that I get them free at frat parties. But you don't see people passing out coke.
If they did, I'd do it.
These two people are very different ones black, ones white, ones a man ,
ones a woman, ones a high school drop out, the others enrolled in a state
university. They probably have only have three common traits, they are
human beings, Americans and drug abusers. Inner-city minorities are treated
very differently when it comes to prosecution. The inner city minorities drug
of choice is crack and the sentences are much more harsh for crack offenders,
then they are for cocaine offenders. This is one of the prime examples of
institutionalized racism in America.
I feel that the way to combat all kinds of drug abuse is through early
intervention. Recovering addicts should meet and share their accounts with
pre-adolescent children. Then there should be a presentation of the damages
that drugs do to the body and mind. I believe that the children in the inner
cities should have a presenter who is from their kind of environment. Also,
this holds true for the middle and upper class children. For example, if a
valley girl from Beverly Hills goes to Harlem and tells her tales of how she
inhaled huge balloons filled with laughing gas everyday, it would no purpose
because the children would have no clue what she was talking about.
ENDNOTES
1. Leland,74
2. Leland,74
3. Smolowe,44
4. Smolowe,45
5. Leland,75
6. Leland,74
7.Smolowe,44
8.Leland,75
9.Leland,75
10.Leland,74
11. Leland,75
12. Smolowe,45
13. Leland,75
14. Smolowe,44
15. Smolowe,45
16. Smolowe, 44
17. Leland,75
18. Leland,74
19. Smolowe,44
Substance abuse is an ever increasing epidemic facing America's
inner-city minorities. There are several different drugs that are gaining
popularity amongst inner-city youths 1. Juice, that is marijuana soaked in
embalming fluid is starting to show up in more and more inner east coast
cities 2. Crack or rock cocaine is by far one of the most addicting drugs out
there, it's been engulfing America's inner-cities since the early 80's 3.
Heroin, is also making a comeback 4. Alcohol and marijuana are still very
popular in the lower and upper classes 5. There are some very distinctive
differences in the substance abuse seen in the less fortunate classes and the
abuse in the middle and upper classes. The upper classes drug of choose is
powder cocaine. The less fortunate classes prefer rock cocaine. Alcohol is
popular in both classes but also in different forms. The upper and middle
class teenagers seem to want to experiment more with designer or new age
drugs. The reason that there is so much media hype about the drug abuse
amongst the poor is because the rich have the political power to cover it up,
the poor don't.
Crack is cocaine mixed with baking soda and cooked in to rock form
6. Even though crack and cocaine are the same drug (just in different forms)
the courts give out stiffer sentences for crack offenders than powder cocaine
offenders 7. According to federal law if a person is caught with five grams
of crack they get a mandatory five year sentence 8. To get a five year
sentence for trafficking powder cocaine a person would have to be caught
with 500 grams 9. African-Americans account for 88.3 percent of all federal
crack distributors 10. This sentencing shows how the judicial system goes
harder on black people for drug violations than whites 11.
The upper and middle class teens do there far share of drugs 12. Growing
more and more popular amongst upper and middle class teenagers is a drug
called Ritilin 13. Ritilin, was designed to help children suffering for ADHD
14. The teenagers get a hold of some Ritilin and mash it in to a powder and
snort it like cocaine 15. "It gives you the same feeling that cocaine does " say
on collage freshman 16. Another very poplar drug amongst the upper class
teenagers is nitris-oxide better known as laughing gas 17. Teenagers is fill
a balloon with the laughing gas and inhale 18. Laughing gas gives it's
victims a ten second high by denying the brain oxygen 19.
To get an accurate perceptive of substance abuse in an inner city
environment, I conducted an interview with T.J, an 18 year old black crack
addict from uptown Manhattan.
Here are some excerpts from our conversion.
Me: How did you start using drugs?
T.J: It started when I was about 11 smokin' weed. After a while weed wasn't
getting me high enough. So I searched for a new thing then I found the big
boy (crack). My first time smokin' crack, I bought a five dollar rock off this
nigga on 115th and Saint Nicks. I went back to my rest and smoked that shit
up. I loved the high. It took me to another planet and shit. The next day I
went back and bought a ten dollar rock and it hasn't stopped since.
Me: How long ago was that?
T.J: Three years, kid.
Me: What has your crack addiction done to your life?
T.J: What life? Crack is my life. My moms won't talk to me. My family, if
they see me they don't say shit. My only friend is my pipe. I done stole shit
from my moms, my boys and just almost anybody I come across. If I don't
get my shit for a while I start shaking. It's like food for me. I need it to
survive.
Me: Did you finish high school?
T.J: Naw kid, like five months after I hit the pipe I dropped out.
Me: What are you trying to do about you problem?
T.J: Well right now I'm in Detox. I'm trying to get my life back on track. It's
mad hard though.
To get the middle class version of drug abuse I interviewed Molly, a white
19 year old student at the University of New Mexico.
Me: How did you start using drugs?
Molly: Well, I started drinking alcohol at 15. I loved the feeling I got for
being drunk. Then I tried pot at my friend's party. This is twice as good as
beer, I thought. It seemed every new drug I tried I like better then the last
one. I started tripping on acid when I get home from school. Then my friend's
brother stole a tank of laughing gas. I loved it.
Me: Did you ever try cocaine?
Molly: I do coke every once and a while. But not half as much as acid, pot
and laughing gas.
Me: Why not?
Molly: Because it costs too much. The reason I do the other drugs so much is
that I get them free at frat parties. But you don't see people passing out coke.
If they did, I'd do it.
These two people are very different ones black, ones white, ones a man ,
ones a woman, ones a high school drop out, the others enrolled in a state
university. They probably have only have three common traits, they are
human beings, Americans and drug abusers. Inner-city minorities are treated
very differently when it comes to prosecution. The inner city minorities drug
of choice is crack and the sentences are much more harsh for crack offenders,
then they are for cocaine offenders. This is one of the prime examples of
institutionalized racism in America.
I feel that the way to combat all kinds of drug abuse is through early
intervention. Recovering addicts should meet and share their accounts with
pre-adolescent children. Then there should be a presentation of the damages
that drugs do to the body and mind. I believe that the children in the inner
cities should have a presenter who is from their kind of environment. Also,
this holds true for the middle and upper class children. For example, if a
valley girl from Beverly Hills goes to Harlem and tells her tales of how she
inhaled huge balloons filled with laughing gas everyday, it would no purpose
because the children would have no clue what she was talking about.
ENDNOTES
1. Leland,74
2. Leland,74
3. Smolowe,44
4. Smolowe,45
5. Leland,75
6. Leland,74
7.Smolowe,44
8.Leland,75
9.Leland,75
10.Leland,74
11. Leland,75
12. Smolowe,45
13. Leland,75
14. Smolowe,44
15. Smolowe,45
16. Smolowe, 44
17. Leland,75
18. Leland,74
19. Smolowe,44
Substance abuse is an ever increasing epidemic facing America's
inner-city minorities. There are several different drugs that are gaining
popularity amongst inner-city youths 1. Juice, that is marijuana soaked in
embalming fluid is starting to show up in more and more inner east coast
cities 2. Crack or rock cocaine is by far one of the most addicting drugs out
there, it's been engulfing America's inner-cities since the early 80's 3.
Heroin, is also making a comeback 4. Alcohol and marijuana are still very
popular in the lower and upper classes 5. There are some very distinctive
differences in the substance abuse seen in the less fortunate classes and the
abuse in the middle and upper classes. The upper classes drug of choose is
powder cocaine. The less fortunate classes prefer rock cocaine. Alcohol is
popular in both classes but also in different forms. The upper and middle
class teenagers seem to want to experiment more with designer or new age
drugs. The reason that there is so much media hype about the drug abuse
amongst the poor is because the rich have the political power to cover it up,
the poor don't.
Crack is cocaine mixed with baking soda and cooked in to rock form
6. Even though crack and cocaine are the same drug (just in different forms)
the courts give out stiffer sentences for crack offenders than powder cocaine
offenders 7. According to federal law if a person is caught with five grams
of crack they get a mandatory five year sentence 8. To get a five year
sentence for trafficking powder cocaine a person would have to be caught
with 500 grams 9. African-Americans account for 88.3 percent of all federal
crack distributors 10. This sentencing shows how the judicial system goes
harder on black people for drug violations than whites 11.
The upper and middle class teens do there far share of drugs 12. Growing
more and more popular amongst upper and middle class teenagers is a drug
called Ritilin 13. Ritilin, was designed to help children suffering for ADHD
14. The teenagers get a hold of some Ritilin and mash it in to a powder and
snort it like cocaine 15. "It gives you the same feeling that cocaine does " say
on collage freshman 16. Another very poplar drug amongst the upper class
teenagers is nitris-oxide better known as laughing gas 17. Teenagers is fill
a balloon with the laughing gas and inhale 18. Laughing gas gives it's
victims a ten second high by denying the brain oxygen 19.
To get an accurate perceptive of substance abuse in an inner city
environment, I conducted an interview with T.J, an 18 year old black crack
addict from uptown Manhattan.
Here are some excerpts from our conversion.
Me: How did you start using drugs?
T.J: It started when I was about 11 smokin' weed. After a while weed wasn't
getting me high enough. So I searched for a new thing then I found the big
boy (crack). My first time smokin' crack, I bought a five dollar rock off this
nigga on 115th and Saint Nicks. I went back to my rest and smoked that shit
up. I loved the high. It took me to another planet and shit. The next day I
went back and bought a ten dollar rock and it hasn't stopped since.
Me: How long ago was that?
T.J: Three years, kid.
Me: What has your crack addiction done to your life?
T.J: What life? Crack is my life. My moms won't talk to me. My family, if
they see me they don't say shit. My only friend is my pipe. I done stole shit
from my moms, my boys and just almost anybody I come across. If I don't
get my shit for a while I start shaking. It's like food for me. I need it to
survive.
Me: Did you finish high school?
T.J: Naw kid, like five months after I hit the pipe I dropped out.
Me: What are you trying to do about you problem?
T.J: Well right now I'm in Detox. I'm trying to get my life back on track. It's
mad hard though.
To get the middle class version of drug abuse I interviewed Molly, a white
19 year old student at the University of New Mexico.
Me: How did you start using drugs?
Molly: Well, I started drinking alcohol at 15. I loved the feeling I got for
being drunk. Then I tried pot at my friend's party. This is twice as good as
beer, I thought. It seemed every new drug I tried I like better then the last
one. I star
inner-city minorities. There are several different drugs that are gaining
popularity amongst inner-city youths 1. Juice, that is marijuana soaked in
embalming fluid is starting to show up in more and more inner east coast
cities 2. Crack or rock cocaine is by far one of the most addicting drugs out
there, it's been engulfing America's inner-cities since the early 80's 3.
Heroin, is also making a comeback 4. Alcohol and marijuana are still very
popular in the lower and upper classes 5. There are some very distinctive
differences in the substance abuse seen in the less fortunate classes and the
abuse in the middle and upper classes. The upper classes drug of choose is
powder cocaine. The less fortunate classes prefer rock cocaine. Alcohol is
popular in both classes but also in different forms. The upper and middle
class teenagers seem to want to experiment more with designer or new age
drugs. The reason that there is so much media hype about the drug abuse
amongst the poor is because the rich have the political power to cover it up,
the poor don't.
Crack is cocaine mixed with baking soda and cooked in to rock form
6. Even though crack and cocaine are the same drug (just in different forms)
the courts give out stiffer sentences for crack offenders than powder cocaine
offenders 7. According to federal law if a person is caught with five grams
of crack they get a mandatory five year sentence 8. To get a five year
sentence for trafficking powder cocaine a person would have to be caught
with 500 grams 9. African-Americans account for 88.3 percent of all federal
crack distributors 10. This sentencing shows how the judicial system goes
harder on black people for drug violations than whites 11.
The upper and middle class teens do there far share of drugs 12. Growing
more and more popular amongst upper and middle class teenagers is a drug
called Ritilin 13. Ritilin, was designed to help children suffering for ADHD
14. The teenagers get a hold of some Ritilin and mash it in to a powder and
snort it like cocaine 15. "It gives you the same feeling that cocaine does " say
on collage freshman 16. Another very poplar drug amongst the upper class
teenagers is nitris-oxide better known as laughing gas 17. Teenagers is fill
a balloon with the laughing gas and inhale 18. Laughing gas gives it's
victims a ten second high by denying the brain oxygen 19.
To get an accurate perceptive of substance abuse in an inner city
environment, I conducted an interview with T.J, an 18 year old black crack
addict from uptown Manhattan.
Here are some excerpts from our conversion.
Me: How did you start using drugs?
T.J: It started when I was about 11 smokin' weed. After a while weed wasn't
getting me high enough. So I searched for a new thing then I found the big
boy (crack). My first time smokin' crack, I bought a five dollar rock off this
nigga on 115th and Saint Nicks. I went back to my rest and smoked that shit
up. I loved the high. It took me to another planet and shit. The next day I
went back and bought a ten dollar rock and it hasn't stopped since.
Me: How long ago was that?
T.J: Three years, kid.
Me: What has your crack addiction done to your life?
T.J: What life? Crack is my life. My moms won't talk to me. My family, if
they see me they don't say shit. My only friend is my pipe. I done stole shit
from my moms, my boys and just almost anybody I come across. If I don't
get my shit for a while I start shaking. It's like food for me. I need it to
survive.
Me: Did you finish high school?
T.J: Naw kid, like five months after I hit the pipe I dropped out.
Me: What are you trying to do about you problem?
T.J: Well right now I'm in Detox. I'm trying to get my life back on track. It's
mad hard though.
To get the middle class version of drug abuse I interviewed Molly, a white
19 year old student at the University of New Mexico.
Me: How did you start using drugs?
Molly: Well, I started drinking alcohol at 15. I loved the feeling I got for
being drunk. Then I tried pot at my friend's party. This is twice as good as
beer, I thought. It seemed every new drug I tried I like better then the last
one. I started tripping on acid when I get home from school. Then my friend's
brother stole a tank of laughing gas. I loved it.
Me: Did you ever try cocaine?
Molly: I do coke every once and a while. But not half as much as acid, pot
and laughing gas.
Me: Why not?
Molly: Because it costs too much. The reason I do the other drugs so much is
that I get them free at frat parties. But you don't see people passing out coke.
If they did, I'd do it.
These two people are very different ones black, ones white, ones a man ,
ones a woman, ones a high school drop out, the others enrolled in a state
university. They probably have only have three common traits, they are
human beings, Americans and drug abusers. Inner-city minorities are treated
very differently when it comes to prosecution. The inner city minorities drug
of choice is crack and the sentences are much more harsh for crack offenders,
then they are for cocaine offenders. This is one of the prime examples of
institutionalized racism in America.
I feel that the way to combat all kinds of drug abuse is through early
intervention. Recovering addicts should meet and share their accounts with
pre-adolescent children. Then there should be a presentation of the damages
that drugs do to the body and mind. I believe that the children in the inner
cities should have a presenter who is from their kind of environment. Also,
this holds true for the middle and upper class children. For example, if a
valley girl from Beverly Hills goes to Harlem and tells her tales of how she
inhaled huge balloons filled with laughing gas everyday, it would no purpose
because the children would have no clue what she was talking about.
ENDNOTES
1. Leland,74
2. Leland,74
3. Smolowe,44
4. Smolowe,45
5. Leland,75
6. Leland,74
7.Smolowe,44
8.Leland,75
9.Leland,75
10.Leland,74
11. Leland,75
12. Smolowe,45
13. Leland,75
14. Smolowe,44
15. Smolowe,45
16. Smolowe, 44
17. Leland,75
18. Leland,74
19. Smolowe,44
Substance abuse is an ever increasing epidemic facing America's
inner-city minorities. There are several different drugs that are gaining
popularity amongst inner-city youths 1. Juice, that is marijuana soaked in
embalming fluid is starting to show up in more and more inner east coast
cities 2. Crack or rock cocaine is by far one of the most addicting drugs out
there, it's been engulfing America's inner-cities since the early 80's 3.
Heroin, is also making a comeback 4. Alcohol and marijuana are still very
popular in the lower and upper classes 5. There are some very distinctive
differences in the substance abuse seen in the less fortunate classes and the
abuse in the middle and upper classes. The upper classes drug of choose is
powder cocaine. The less fortunate classes prefer rock cocaine. Alcohol is
popular in both classes but also in different forms. The upper and middle
class teenagers seem to want to experiment more with designer or new age
drugs. The reason that there is so much media hype about the drug abuse
amongst the poor is because the rich have the political power to cover it up,
the poor don't.
Crack is cocaine mixed with baking soda and cooked in to rock form
6. Even though crack and cocaine are the same drug (just in different forms)
the courts give out stiffer sentences for crack offenders than powder cocaine
offenders 7. According to federal law if a person is caught with five grams
of crack they get a mandatory five year sentence 8. To get a five year
sentence for trafficking powder cocaine a person would have to be caught
with 500 grams 9. African-Americans account for 88.3 percent of all federal
crack distributors 10. This sentencing shows how the judicial system goes
harder on black people for drug violations than whites 11.
The upper and middle class teens do there far share of drugs 12. Growing
more and more popular amongst upper and middle class teenagers is a drug
called Ritilin 13. Ritilin, was designed to help children suffering for ADHD
14. The teenagers get a hold of some Ritilin and mash it in to a powder and
snort it like cocaine 15. "It gives you the same feeling that cocaine does " say
on collage freshman 16. Another very poplar drug amongst the upper class
teenagers is nitris-oxide better known as laughing gas 17. Teenagers is fill
a balloon with the laughing gas and inhale 18. Laughing gas gives it's
victims a ten second high by denying the brain oxygen 19.
To get an accurate perceptive of substance abuse in an inner city
environment, I conducted an interview with T.J, an 18 year old black crack
addict from uptown Manhattan.
Here are some excerpts from our conversion.
Me: How did you start using drugs?
T.J: It started when I was about 11 smokin' weed. After a while weed wasn't
getting me high enough. So I searched for a new thing then I found the big
boy (crack). My first time smokin' crack, I bought a five dollar rock off this
nigga on 115th and Saint Nicks. I went back to my rest and smoked that shit
up. I loved the high. It took me to another planet and shit. The next day I
went back and bought a ten dollar rock and it hasn't stopped since.
Me: How long ago was that?
T.J: Three years, kid.
Me: What has your crack addiction done to your life?
T.J: What life? Crack is my life. My moms won't talk to me. My family, if
they see me they don't say shit. My only friend is my pipe. I done stole shit
from my moms, my boys and just almost anybody I come across. If I don't
get my shit for a while I start shaking. It's like food for me. I need it to
survive.
Me: Did you finish high school?
T.J: Naw kid, like five months after I hit the pipe I dropped out.
Me: What are you trying to do about you problem?
T.J: Well right now I'm in Detox. I'm trying to get my life back on track. It's
mad hard though.
To get the middle class version of drug abuse I interviewed Molly, a white
19 year old student at the University of New Mexico.
Me: How did you start using drugs?
Molly: Well, I started drinking alcohol at 15. I loved the feeling I got for
being drunk. Then I tried pot at my friend's party. This is twice as good as
beer, I thought. It seemed every new drug I tried I like better then the last
one. I started tripping on acid when I get home from school. Then my friend's
brother stole a tank of laughing gas. I loved it.
Me: Did you ever try cocaine?
Molly: I do coke every once and a while. But not half as much as acid, pot
and laughing gas.
Me: Why not?
Molly: Because it costs too much. The reason I do the other drugs so much is
that I get them free at frat parties. But you don't see people passing out coke.
If they did, I'd do it.
These two people are very different ones black, ones white, ones a man ,
ones a woman, ones a high school drop out, the others enrolled in a state
university. They probably have only have three common traits, they are
human beings, Americans and drug abusers. Inner-city minorities are treated
very differently when it comes to prosecution. The inner city minorities drug
of choice is crack and the sentences are much more harsh for crack offenders,
then they are for cocaine offenders. This is one of the prime examples of
institutionalized racism in America.
I feel that the way to combat all kinds of drug abuse is through early
intervention. Recovering addicts should meet and share their accounts with
pre-adolescent children. Then there should be a presentation of the damages
that drugs do to the body and mind. I believe that the children in the inner
cities should have a presenter who is from their kind of environment. Also,
this holds true for the middle and upper class children. For example, if a
valley girl from Beverly Hills goes to Harlem and tells her tales of how she
inhaled huge balloons filled with laughing gas everyday, it would no purpose
because the children would have no clue what she was talking about.
ENDNOTES
1. Leland,74
2. Leland,74
3. Smolowe,44
4. Smolowe,45
5. Leland,75
6. Leland,74
7.Smolowe,44
8.Leland,75
9.Leland,75
10.Leland,74
11. Leland,75
12. Smolowe,45
13. Leland,75
14. Smolowe,44
15. Smolowe,45
16. Smolowe, 44
17. Leland,75
18. Leland,74
19. Smolowe,44
Substance abuse is an ever increasing epidemic facing America's
inner-city minorities. There are several different drugs that are gaining
popularity amongst inner-city youths 1. Juice, that is marijuana soaked in
embalming fluid is starting to show up in more and more inner east coast
cities 2. Crack or rock cocaine is by far one of the most addicting drugs out
there, it's been engulfing America's inner-cities since the early 80's 3.
Heroin, is also making a comeback 4. Alcohol and marijuana are still very
popular in the lower and upper classes 5. There are some very distinctive
differences in the substance abuse seen in the less fortunate classes and the
abuse in the middle and upper classes. The upper classes drug of choose is
powder cocaine. The less fortunate classes prefer rock cocaine. Alcohol is
popular in both classes but also in different forms. The upper and middle
class teenagers seem to want to experiment more with designer or new age
drugs. The reason that there is so much media hype about the drug abuse
amongst the poor is because the rich have the political power to cover it up,
the poor don't.
Crack is cocaine mixed with baking soda and cooked in to rock form
6. Even though crack and cocaine are the same drug (just in different forms)
the courts give out stiffer sentences for crack offenders than powder cocaine
offenders 7. According to federal law if a person is caught with five grams
of crack they get a mandatory five year sentence 8. To get a five year
sentence for trafficking powder cocaine a person would have to be caught
with 500 grams 9. African-Americans account for 88.3 percent of all federal
crack distributors 10. This sentencing shows how the judicial system goes
harder on black people for drug violations than whites 11.
The upper and middle class teens do there far share of drugs 12. Growing
more and more popular amongst upper and middle class teenagers is a drug
called Ritilin 13. Ritilin, was designed to help children suffering for ADHD
14. The teenagers get a hold of some Ritilin and mash it in to a powder and
snort it like cocaine 15. "It gives you the same feeling that cocaine does " say
on collage freshman 16. Another very poplar drug amongst the upper class
teenagers is nitris-oxide better known as laughing gas 17. Teenagers is fill
a balloon with the laughing gas and inhale 18. Laughing gas gives it's
victims a ten second high by denying the brain oxygen 19.
To get an accurate perceptive of substance abuse in an inner city
environment, I conducted an interview with T.J, an 18 year old black crack
addict from uptown Manhattan.
Here are some excerpts from our conversion.
Me: How did you start using drugs?
T.J: It started when I was about 11 smokin' weed. After a while weed wasn't
getting me high enough. So I searched for a new thing then I found the big
boy (crack). My first time smokin' crack, I bought a five dollar rock off this
nigga on 115th and Saint Nicks. I went back to my rest and smoked that shit
up. I loved the high. It took me to another planet and shit. The next day I
went back and bought a ten dollar rock and it hasn't stopped since.
Me: How long ago was that?
T.J: Three years, kid.
Me: What has your crack addiction done to your life?
T.J: What life? Crack is my life. My moms won't talk to me. My family, if
they see me they don't say shit. My only friend is my pipe. I done stole shit
from my moms, my boys and just almost anybody I come across. If I don't
get my shit for a while I start shaking. It's like food for me. I need it to
survive.
Me: Did you finish high school?
T.J: Naw kid, like five months after I hit the pipe I dropped out.
Me: What are you trying to do about you problem?
T.J: Well right now I'm in Detox. I'm trying to get my life back on track. It's
mad hard though.
To get the middle class version of drug abuse I interviewed Molly, a white
19 year old student at the University of New Mexico.
Me: How did you start using drugs?
Molly: Well, I started drinking alcohol at 15. I loved the feeling I got for
being drunk. Then I tried pot at my friend's party. This is twice as good as
beer, I thought. It seemed every new drug I tried I like better then the last
one. I started tripping on acid when I get home from school. Then my friend's
brother stole a tank of laughing gas. I loved it.
Me: Did you ever try cocaine?
Molly: I do coke every once and a while. But not half as much as acid, pot
and laughing gas.
Me: Why not?
Molly: Because it costs too much. The reason I do the other drugs so much is
that I get them free at frat parties. But you don't see people passing out coke.
If they did, I'd do it.
These two people are very different ones black, ones white, ones a man ,
ones a woman, ones a high school drop out, the others enrolled in a state
university. They probably have only have three common traits, they are
human beings, Americans and drug abusers. Inner-city minorities are treated
very differently when it comes to prosecution. The inner city minorities drug
of choice is crack and the sentences are much more harsh for crack offenders,
then they are for cocaine offenders. This is one of the prime examples of
institutionalized racism in America.
I feel that the way to combat all kinds of drug abuse is through early
intervention. Recovering addicts should meet and share their accounts with
pre-adolescent children. Then there should be a presentation of the damages
that drugs do to the body and mind. I believe that the children in the inner
cities should have a presenter who is from their kind of environment. Also,
this holds true for the middle and upper class children. For example, if a
valley girl from Beverly Hills goes to Harlem and tells her tales of how she
inhaled huge balloons filled with laughing gas everyday, it would no purpose
because the children would have no clue what she was talking about.
ENDNOTES
1. Leland,74
2. Leland,74
3. Smolowe,44
4. Smolowe,45
5. Leland,75
6. Leland,74
7.Smolowe,44
8.Leland,75
9.Leland,75
10.Leland,74
11. Leland,75
12. Smolowe,45
13. Leland,75
14. Smolowe,44
15. Smolowe,45
16. Smolowe, 44
17. Leland,75
18. Leland,74
19. Smolowe,44
Substance abuse is an ever increasing epidemic facing America's
inner-city minorities. There are several different drugs that are gaining
popularity amongst inner-city youths 1. Juice, that is marijuana soaked in
embalming fluid is starting to show up in more and more inner east coast
cities 2. Crack or rock cocaine is by far one of the most addicting drugs out
there, it's been engulfing America's inner-cities since the early 80's 3.
Heroin, is also making a comeback 4. Alcohol and marijuana are still very
popular in the lower and upper classes 5. There are some very distinctive
differences in the substance abuse seen in the less fortunate classes and the
abuse in the middle and upper classes. The upper classes drug of choose is
powder cocaine. The less fortunate classes prefer rock cocaine. Alcohol is
popular in both classes but also in different forms. The upper and middle
class teenagers seem to want to experiment more with designer or new age
drugs. The reason that there is so much media hype about the drug abuse
amongst the poor is because the rich have the political power to cover it up,
the poor don't.
Crack is cocaine mixed with baking soda and cooked in to rock form
6. Even though crack and cocaine are the same drug (just in different forms)
the courts give out stiffer sentences for crack offenders than powder cocaine
offenders 7. According to federal law if a person is caught with five grams
of crack they get a mandatory five year sentence 8. To get a five year
sentence for trafficking powder cocaine a person would have to be caught
with 500 grams 9. African-Americans account for 88.3 percent of all federal
crack distributors 10. This sentencing shows how the judicial system goes
harder on black people for drug violations than whites 11.
The upper and middle class teens do there far share of drugs 12. Growing
more and more popular amongst upper and middle class teenagers is a drug
called Ritilin 13. Ritilin, was designed to help children suffering for ADHD
14. The teenagers get a hold of some Ritilin and mash it in to a powder and
snort it like cocaine 15. "It gives you the same feeling that cocaine does " say
on collage freshman 16. Another very poplar drug amongst the upper class
teenagers is nitris-oxide better known as laughing gas 17. Teenagers is fill
a balloon with the laughing gas and inhale 18. Laughing gas gives it's
victims a ten second high by denying the brain oxygen 19.
To get an accurate perceptive of substance abuse in an inner city
environment, I conducted an interview with T.J, an 18 year old black crack
addict from uptown Manhattan.
Here are some excerpts from our conversion.
Me: How did you start using drugs?
T.J: It started when I was about 11 smokin' weed. After a while weed wasn't
getting me high enough. So I searched for a new thing then I found the big
boy (crack). My first time smokin' crack, I bought a five dollar rock off this
nigga on 115th and Saint Nicks. I went back to my rest and smoked that shit
up. I loved the high. It took me to another planet and shit. The next day I
went back and bought a ten dollar rock and it hasn't stopped since.
Me: How long ago was that?
T.J: Three years, kid.
Me: What has your crack addiction done to your life?
T.J: What life? Crack is my life. My moms won't talk to me. My family, if
they see me they don't say shit. My only friend is my pipe. I done stole shit
from my moms, my boys and just almost anybody I come across. If I don't
get my shit for a while I start shaking. It's like food for me. I need it to
survive.
Me: Did you finish high school?
T.J: Naw kid, like five months after I hit the pipe I dropped out.
Me: What are you trying to do about you problem?
T.J: Well right now I'm in Detox. I'm trying to get my life back on track. It's
mad hard though.
To get the middle class version of drug abuse I interviewed Molly, a white
19 year old student at the University of New Mexico.
Me: How did you start using drugs?
Molly: Well, I started drinking alcohol at 15. I loved the feeling I got for
being drunk. Then I tried pot at my friend's party. This is twice as good as
beer, I thought. It seemed every new drug I tried I like better then the last
one. I started tripping on acid when I get home from school. Then my friend's
brother stole a tank of laughing gas. I loved it.
Me: Did you ever try cocaine?
Molly: I do coke every once and a while. But not half as much as acid, pot
and laughing gas.
Me: Why not?
Molly: Because it costs too much. The reason I do the other drugs so much is
that I get them free at frat parties. But you don't see people passing out coke.
If they did, I'd do it.
These two people are very different ones black, ones white, ones a man ,
ones a woman, ones a high school drop out, the others enrolled in a state
university. They probably have only have three common traits, they are
human beings, Americans and drug abusers. Inner-city minorities are treated
very differently when it comes to prosecution. The inner city minorities drug
of choice is crack and the sentences are much more harsh for crack offenders,
then they are for cocaine offenders. This is one of the prime examples of
institutionalized racism in America.
I feel that the way to combat all kinds of drug abuse is through early
intervention. Recovering addicts should meet and share their accounts with
pre-adolescent children. Then there should be a presentation of the damages
that drugs do to the body and mind. I believe that the children in the inner
cities should have a presenter who is from their kind of environment. Also,
this holds true for the middle and upper class children. For example, if a
valley girl from Beverly Hills goes to Harlem and tells her tales of how she
inhaled huge balloons filled with laughing gas everyday, it would no purpose
because the children would have no clue what she was talking about.
ENDNOTES
1. Leland,74
2. Leland,74
3. Smolowe,44
4. Smolowe,45
5. Leland,75
6. Leland,74
7.Smolowe,44
8.Leland,75
9.Leland,75
10.Leland,74
11. Leland,75
12. Smolowe,45
13. Leland,75
14. Smolowe,44
15. Smolowe,45
16. Smolowe, 44
17. Leland,75
18. Leland,74
19. Smolowe,44
Substance abuse is an ever increasing epidemic facing America's
inner-city minorities. There are several different drugs that are gaining
popularity amongst inner-city youths 1. Juice, that is marijuana soaked in
embalming fluid is starting to show up in more and more inner east coast
cities 2. Crack or rock cocaine is by far one of the most addicting drugs out
there, it's been engulfing America's inner-cities since the early 80's 3.
Heroin, is also making a comeback 4. Alcohol and marijuana are still very
popular in the lower and upper classes 5. There are some very distinctive
differences in the substance abuse seen in the less fortunate classes and the
abuse in the middle and upper classes. The upper classes drug of choose is
powder cocaine. The less fortunate classes prefer rock cocaine. Alcohol is
popular in both classes but also in different forms. The upper and middle
class teenagers seem to want to experiment more with designer or new age
drugs. The reason that there is so much media hype about the drug abuse
amongst the poor is because the rich have the political power to cover it up,
the poor don't.
Crack is cocaine mixed with baking soda and cooked in to rock form
6. Even though crack and cocaine are the same drug (just in different forms)
the courts give out stiffer sentences for crack offenders than powder cocaine
offenders 7. According to federal law if a person is caught with five grams
of crack they get a mandatory five year sentence 8. To get a five year
sentence for trafficking powder cocaine a person would have to be caught
with 500 grams 9. African-Americans account for 88.3 percent of all federal
crack distributors 10. This sentencing shows how the judicial system goes
harder on black people for drug violations than whites 11.
The upper and middle class teens do there far share of drugs 12. Growing
more and more popular amongst upper and middle class teenagers is a drug
called Ritilin 13. Ritilin, was designed to help children suffering for ADHD
14. The teenagers get a hold of some Ritilin and mash it in to a powder and
snort it like cocaine 15. "It gives you the same feeling that cocaine does " say
on collage freshman 16. Another very poplar drug amongst the upper class
teenagers is nitris-oxide better known as laughing gas 17. Teenagers is fill
a balloon with the laughing gas and inhale 18. Laughing gas gives it's
victims a ten second high by denying the brain oxygen 19.
To get an accurate perceptive of substance abuse in an inner city
environment, I conducted an interview with T.J, an 18 year old black crack
addict from uptown Manhattan.
Here are some excerpts from our conversion.
Me: How did you start using drugs?
T.J: It started when I was about 11 smokin' weed. After a while weed wasn't
getting me high enough. So I searched for a new thing then I found the big
boy (crack). My first time smokin' crack, I bought a five dollar rock off this
nigga on 115th and Saint Nicks. I went back to my rest and smoked that shit
up. I loved the high. It took me to another planet and shit. The next day I
went back and bought a ten dollar rock and it hasn't stopped since.
Me: How long ago was that?
T.J: Three years, kid.
Me: What has your crack addiction done to your life?
T.J: What life? Crack is my life. My moms won't talk to me. My family, if
they see me they don't say shit. My only friend is my pipe. I done stole shit
from my moms, my boys and just almost anybody I come across. If I don't
get my shit for a while I start shaking. It's like food for me. I need it to
survive.
Me: Did you finish high school?
T.J: Naw kid, like five months after I hit the pipe I dropped out.
Me: What are you trying to do about you problem?
T.J: Well right now I'm in Detox. I'm trying to get my life back on track. It's
mad hard though.
To get the middle class version of drug abuse I interviewed Molly, a white
19 year old student at the University of New Mexico.
Me: How did you start using drugs?
Molly: Well, I started drinking alcohol at 15. I loved the feeling I got for
being drunk. Then I tried pot at my friend's party. This is twice as good as
beer, I thought. It seemed every new drug I tried I like better then the last
one. I star
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